Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing

There are very few mech anime’s I’m willing to stomach. There has to be very good character development, plot, and world building for me to truly an enjoy mech anime’s. Some, but not limited to are “The Big O”, “Evangelion” and the anime that introduced me to it all; Gundam wing. Gundam Wing is truly Gundams best in its long series or incarnations. The character design is there aesthetically, very 90s and futuristic, it seems so real you could take a bite of it, like a tasty juicy meat of your choosing. Heero is badass, and all of the supporting characters are rememberable and badass as well. Thats just their personal characters, we’re not even talking about their mech suits, which, are so rememberable, i can hardly think of another Gundam series replicating such badass rememberable Gundam suits. The characters are so good in Gundam wing, they made a spin off movie of one of the supporting characters, and even made another manga set in the future to seal off the main character and his love interests love story. If that much dedication and love for this story from the already existing fan base and creators doesn’t sway you into watching this or enjoying this, I don’t know what will. The villains of this anime are so rememberable and real, it’s truly adult in how they are crafted, with their motivations and character designs. They’re not just some “hehehe you have discovered my evil plan!” It’s intricate political climates and warring factions, and leaders of those parties. This anime is so intricate in its story telling, it even has you believe in the beginning that the main character and supporting cast are actually the bad guys, terrorists as described. They’re child soldiers basically, only in their teens! It’s not too far off to believe they’re radicalized soldiers from a terroristic freedom faction. But the anime does good to show that they are in fact in the right. It reels you in, and paints an even broader picture. That propaganda from the government machine can sway how we view the world. Im not sure of another anime that has ever done this, sway the watcher into actually liking the protagonist after complicity stating they’re the bad guys. Not this intricately atleast. You have to come there at your own whim. Treize is one of the most effective and charming villains I have ever seen in any anime. He might be one of the most memorable i have ever seen. Due to the pseudo realistic nature of this anime, this makes his character seem even more real to me. Im not so certain a treize like figure never existed or will exist in our own reality. His character is similar to napoleon, classy, charismatic, and crushingly militaristic, which is what makes him so great. You need to watch this anime. This is mandatory. 10/10

When I watched Gundam Wing the first time all those years ago back in 2016, I was like, "what was the hype even about, what was so special about this?" While I like it a bit more than I used to I can understand why me from all those years ago was never a big fan of it despite me thinking the series is decent overall. I'll start with the good, the setting and world like a lot of Gundam shows are fascinating and interesting, I always loved the idea of mankind moving up into space colonies and one day leaving the earth which could happen someday, and I love how this franchise explores that possibility, and it's still just as interesting here, even if much of the backstory is clumsily delivered through narrated exposition a lot of the time, and I feel like the show could do a better job at weaving in backstory and exposition in better. The characters are also decent, Heero is a strange character at first but he started to grow on me, the villains like Trieze and Miliardo are also solid enough. However characters like Catra and Wu Fei aren't particularly that great, Catra being hard to sympatheize with after the actions he does later in the series and Wu Fei just comes as a smug brat a lot of the time. I do like Duo Maxwell a lot and he's a pretty entertaining character and the rest of the cast is just okay overall. Relieena is also somewhat tolerable for a pacisfist character since she never contradict herself that much or at least I can't recall. This is where the series tends to break it for me, my big issue with Gundam Wing is the frequent time jumps and perspective breaks with characters, there's a lot that happens on this show but it never feels like you are going on a slow gradual journey with them, it feels more like a highlight reel where you will follow one character one minute for a few episodes, then they will be written out of the plot for a while and then you follow another character(s) and then after a while they will be written out of the plot. It makes for an awkwardly disjointed narrative where it's hard to get overly attached to anyone and their plight, Relianna's character development later in the show felt particularly jarring since she had shown up in so long. There's a "death" of sorts that happens later in the series and the whole time, I am wonder, "are they ever going to explain what her fate actually was already?" It makes me appreciate the original series and many other Gundam shows in how they are written since the cast was generally always together in one location, meaning you didn't have to break the perspective of other characters nearly as often since they were always near by. It made the narrative feel less disjointed ans stilted as a result. Most of the cast in Wing are always seperated and are off in different places so far away from each other as opposed to the story following two groups in the original series like the White Base and the Zabi family. The last few episodes are easily the best since the series by that point is following 3 factions and the most of the characters are together making the story feeling it doesn't need to break off into subplot land nearly as much anymore. It actually feels like I am following a group and their stuggles rather than having it be the highlight reel. Overall, I like Wing a bit better than before but not by much, this show will always be a reminder of how I take certain tropes for granted and how bizarre a story can be when these tropes are not being followed.

The Gundam franchise is one I've talked about twice. Once with Iron-blooded Orphans & once with the considerably less competent 00. But since it's the month for great couples, it's time to look at an older instalment with Wing.  Story: Our tale takes place in the future where we have established space colonies and a powerful Earth alliance that basically runs the planet. Factions within the colonies feel that they've been oppressed by the Alliance's overwhelming military might and this leads to operation Meteor. Five different colonies all sending their own Gundams and pilots to Earth. The pilots land and fight separately, with a special focus on the OZ organisation. At its heart, Wing is a story about fighting for peace and asking how far is too far in pursuit of that goal. Overall, it's a theme that's well explored and compelling. The weakness of it is that it can come across as a little absurd to have people talking about ending fighting while blowing up enemies in giant robots. There are also some scenes that go a little overboard with the discussion and come across as a bit preachy.  Thematically, it also makes sense to have young Gundam pilots with the whole concept of a new generation giving their all against the old for the sake of peace. In the story, however, it seems a little strange to have all the pilots be teenagers. I believe they could have done a better job of giving an in-universe reason for that. Oh, and the series has two recap episodes which, being generous, is one more than you need. Doesn't help that they're back to back.  The pacing is very strongly handled. The narrative is also highly compelling with quite a few threads that come together. The series also has strong world building and an excellent sense of scope.  Characters: The cast is very well put together. The major characters and important side characters all possess a sense of verisimilitude. The series also excels at fleshing out motivations for all its characters, including the antagonists. The interactions and character dynamics are pretty close to exemplary. Especially between Quatre and Trowa, but I'll get to that in detail when I talk about ho-yay.  What makes the dynamics work so well is that a lot of the characters have pressing topics of discussion. For example, Quatre and Relena both have a lot of philosophical differences with Dorothy. But Dorothy's dynamics with each of them are very different in spite of Quatre and Relena having a similar philosophy. She's a lot more combative with Quatre and comes across as outright amorous towards Relena. It's that type of detail in character writing that really fleshes out your characters. And it is nice to see some of the pilots interact with family. Quatre with his father and sister, Trowa with his sister. Art: The art is definitely dated by today's standards. For the mid-90s, this looked pretty good and the art does hold up well enough. But you'll definitely notice a lot of the hallmarks of mid-90s animation. Like repeating frames, crowd scenes where only the focus characters get detailed, & occasionally choppy movements. You know, the type of thing you get when you have those old-fashioned hand drawn series.  In general, Sunrise did do a good job of getting the animation to flow smoothly. Especially during intense action sequences. The Gundam designs are excellent. I especially like Shenlong & Deathscythe. There are some strong backgrounds. Especially when they're on Earth and out in nature.  Sound: Midorikawa Hikaru, Seki Toshihiko, Nakahara Shigeru, Orikasa Ai, Ishino Ryuuzou, Koyasu Takehito & Yokoyama Chisa are all superb in this. Really, there aren't any poor performances. The direction and delivery are just on point.  Otani Kow did an excellent job with the musical composition. He also worked on compositions for Another & Haibane Renmei. So, he has a history of excellence. With this being the earliest example I've reviewed.  Ho-yay: There's a lot in this series. One of the first things we see Trowa do after meeting Quatre is grab and blow his flute. Take that out of context if you want.  Even putting the double entendre aside, these two start out making music together. This series also does a similar thing to Battle Athletes where they psychically convey their feelings from a distance. The difference being we don't see them kiss even though we know they have because it's so obvious. Even their image songs: Love is a Shooting Star & Star's Gaze, go together. It's like the writers scientifically engineered their dynamic to be as gay as possible without becoming canon but only on a technicality.  And these two just provide the most prominent source of ho-yay. Zechs and Treize also have that kind of dynamic. And Dorothy very blatantly has a crush on Relena.  Areas of Improvement: Only one recap episode, maximum. In general, I would say not to have any, but if you really feel you need one because the series is almost fifty episodes just stick to the one. An in-universe reason for the pilots to be teenagers. Yes, it works thematically. But that isn't a blanket excuse for it in-universe. If it were up to me, I'd say they were genetically modified to make them better pilots and the procedure had to be done at a younger age. Hence why they're teenagers when the operation begins. Now you have a simple explanation. Less dialogue decrying war. Like I said, the anti-war theme can get preachy at times and I feel that having less dialogue directly addressing it would fix the issue. Final Thoughts:  Gundam Wing has some noticeable problems. That can't be denied. However, it also has a lot of significant strengths. And it certainly, in my mind, is an enjoyable series that's well worth a view for any mecha fan who cares about more than mindless action. So, I'm giving it a solid 8/10.

Let me first start off by saying I felt that the animation, sound and music were on par for the era; those hold up with time. I also need to add that this was not the first Gundam series I watched (that honor belongs to 0083). But the bottom line is I did not enjoy this series despite how much I enjoy Gundam and mecha in general. Most of the reason stem from the fact that I'm from the future, but we’ll get into that later. The first thing I wish to mention is my disdain for the the designs of these Gundams. It’s almost as if they’re designed to look cool and sell toys, rather than practical combat applications. Heavyarms makes sense for long range attacks, as does Deathscythe for CQC. The Wing Gundam can fly but boasts a cannon that cares nothing for collateral damage. Sandrock is inferior to Deathscythe and Heavyarms. And the Shenlong makes no sense. Then there’s the cardboard cutouts that pilot these toys. Heero is nothing but the mission, Duo is the voice of reason, Quatre just wants to sacrifice himself and Wufei wants nothing but to fight. Relina, peace at all costs. Treize, Milliardo & Dorothy, there must be war! Noin, Rashid & Une, blind devotion to their man. No one grows, changes or learns anything. The show is also very vague about the logistical aspect of its own story. Mobile suits run on fuel, who provides it for five Gundam meister's? Who provides the ammunition? All their backers and resources are in space, no? I liked the character of Trowa as he was the only character had any depth and growth to him. I liked Zechs for his transformation, but Milliardo Peacecraft is one dimensional. I liked Sally Po, she was a refreshing character amidst all this brooding. The action was entertaining to watch, when it wasn’t rehashed shots of Wing obliteration targets. And there wasn’t a SEED amount of crying. Now for why I couldn’t enjoy this series. As I said, I’m from the future and what I mean is I completed Endless Waltz before completing Wing. And the one thing I learned from Endless Waltz is that every single character except for Treize survives the series. So it's kind of hard for there to be any sort of life or death drama if I know the characters are going to survive. Another is the fact that a future series, 00, does this very same plot and story better. In fact most Gundam series that follow this are better. That’s the problem with being from the future. I had the same problem when I watched Gundam SEED Destiny. I'd suggest watching any Gundam series that's newer than this.

I believe people purposely take off their nostalgia goggles and then deliberately scoff and dismiss everything about it, not giving it any chance to be great, which it truly is. I truly think Wing was extremely well written, both characters and the story. Heero's class speech for one. I especially loved Relena and Heero and their slow eventual understanding of each other. The music and sounds are excellent (OPs especially) and the designs were satisfying. Of course it has flaws like every other show, like the animation and the ending. The ending really could have been much better. It was 'cute' but weak and rushed. With the art, it's really a shame because some good scenes where pretty detailed and smooth, but most of the other scenes were not (looking at you Epyon). The characters were really well drawn most of the time, so the problem is really with the mechas. I kept telling myself 'man this show deserves so much better'. Sometimes when it got bad, it got real bad (think of a low budget 70s anime). Even some of the important fights will be hard to receive because of the poor animation. Still, it really is a great show because despite that, there were still some really unique animation sequences that were well executed. Watch it unbiased and without hostility because you 'hate that it's so popular'. Worth every minute.

Okay, not going to lie, this was one of the first animes I ever watched (thanks Toonami!). And to this day, it's still one of my favorites. I've even rewatched it several times. True to the Gundam series, its full of political maneuverings every where. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and sometimes you just feel like you want to tear out your hair because things change so fast. My favorite part about it was the characters, in particular Heero Yuy. Of course, Heero Yuy. I came to dislike Relena more and more because she just got more and more annoying to be as time went along but I will say I enjoyed the romance of it all. The other Gundam pilots were also wonderful. The art was great for it's time and I still enjoy it. I also love the soundtrack and love the voice actors/actresses. Both subbed and dubbed versions! (which I NEVER say as I'm a true believer of subs only, no dubs). And of course, I know the theme songs to this day. Haha, maybe it's the starry-eyed love of the past and an ever-lasting crush on Heero but I'd always continue to recommend this anime. Also, I haven't been able to watch any of the other Gundam series so I'm sure other people have their likes and dislikes. Just my two cents, haha.

(Check out my profile for a link to my site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!) I'd like to preface this review by confessing that I'd never watched Gundam Wing as it originally aired on Toonami when I was a child. I may have tried once or twice, but the dialogue-heavy show went over my young head in a way that made me prefer the much simpler G Gundam. Even still, I've always had something of a relationship with Gundam Wing's Mobile Suits. I was gifted some of the cheaper models of the heroes' Gundams as a kid, and the units have always been some of my favorites to use in the Super Robot Wars series of videogames. I also enjoyed them in the videogames Gundam Wing: Endless Duel and Gundam Battle Assault 2, so much of Gundam Wing's characters, mechs, and storyline weren't totally unfamiliar to me. Even though I had heard countless opinions that Wing was near the bottom or the absolute worst of the Alternate Universe Gundam titles and was only fueled by Toonami nostalgia, I decided to bite the bullet and check out the series that had already meant something to me for so long and found both a Gundam anime that was highly enjoyable and a puzzle in how harshly it's criticized these days by Gundam fans. To cut to the chase, much of the plot of Gundam Wing is very stupid. The series is primarily derided for its heavily political talk. The optimist in me made me think action fans were complaining about a stronger focus on drama, and as someone who generally preferred his mechs in mecha anime to take up modest screentime that I would enjoy that aspect. I didn't. Like said, the politics in Gundam Wing are very stupid, childish, black and white, and most of all, extremist. Though the countless number of politicians and intense teenagers will wax philosophical and doll up their bland statements and beliefs in charisma and a fancy vocabulary, it's nothing but laughable how the full grown adults are every bit as naive as the teenagers in the series. You really have to watch it to get a handle on how dumb it is, but to make it short it's endless repeated platitudes about how true peace can only be obtained by throwing away weapons and telling people to stop fighting wars where people die "meaninglessly" (durr), or how true peace can only be obtained through authoritative power (durrr), or how peace can only be obtained by killing people to show people how killing people is bad (what). It's literally stuff a 6 year old comes up with as soon as he first learns about war. When it comes to the political side of things, character motivations change like the seasons based on really poorly thought-out and vague ideals which can make their incredibly extreme decisions (this is war, after all) very frustrating at the worst. No one ever sounds like they've thought about what they're saying, and if it wasn't for their conviction you wouldn't believe them either. But to be fair, Gundam characters do stupid things literally all the time. Granted, it was rarely the adults in positions of power being so naive, but I'm still pretty accepting of it by now. That's it. The absolute worst part of Gundam Wing is indeed the politics, and it's very understandable that people with varying tolerance towards that aspect would really hate the show. On top of that, the storyline set-ups are often very obviously taken from Universal Century Gundam works, which is very disappointing when realized. But what about everything else? Actually, based on the Gundam series I've seen so far, Wing does a lot of things very well that its predecessors did not. Let's start with the five main protagonists who actually have a very nice chemistry with each other. Heero Yui is a stock stoic soldier type, but he's redeemed in the English dub somewhat by Mark Hildreth, who gives him a sort of sarcastic asshole tone that makes him a lot more entertaining and likable than he's meant to be (this is really all I can say about him, but he's cool enough I suppose). Duo Maxwell is the free-spirited type that calms the intensity of the other pilots and is a very necessary breath of fresh air among the entire series cast making him easily the best character in the series. Trowa Barton is pretty much Heero but done slightly better, an emotionless soldier that seems to noticeably warm up more than Heero does by the end even though that's supposed to be Heero's character arc. Quatre Winner seems like he'd be the normally annoying pacifist fighter among the group, and while it's clear he's the most gentle, he never shies away from fighting when prompted to and plays a pivotal role in uniting the Gundam pilots which actually yields results. Wufei Chang is the Japanese culture insert who is an asshole searching for honor and resolution in battle and becomes an asshole who has found honor and resolution in battle. So there isn't much depth to these guys, but they're almost always entertaining to watch whether in or outside of a Mobile Suit, and their development as rogue fighters into a team is fun to follow as well. The pilots don't initially know each other at all so it makes sense that they'd clash with each other which is another aspect that makes them believable as human beings. Furthermore, no one in the team feels like a weak link, and it's extremely nice to have a cast of competent main characters in a Gundam series as opposed to one lead character surrounded by a vastly inferior supporting cast that complements him alone. Everyone feels important when it comes to defeating the enemy. Zechs Marquise and Treize Khushrenada are effective as antagonists and are often the most likable characters outside of Duo. Zechs is the series's token Char character (though not really token until now) and inherits more of his inspiration's personality than usual which is unfortunate, but he serves his role well as a classic cool ace pilot type, and often is the only antagonist that can go toe-to-toe with the Gundam pilots, making him valuable when it comes to the action. Treize is the unshakably elegant, classy, badass Oz commander whose stance on the Mobile Dolls has the distinction of being literally the only interesting thing said among Gundam Wing's political waxing. Before closing out on the characters I'd have to mention Relena Peacecraft, the mouthpiece for the pacifistic side in the political talks who has noteworthy position of being the most naive and pointless character in the show, and how her "fighting is bad" speeches amount to so much in the show deserves nothing short of wonder when taken into any real-world context. She also has a completely unbelievable affection for Heero, but that barely takes up any of the show so it's okay. We have a solid cast of characters that are fun if not deep, but what Gundam Wing really excels at, more than any Gundam I've seen yet, is the goddamn pacing. 49 episodes is a normal count for a Gundam series, but whereas Zeta Gundam would make you question its episode count more the longer the series went on, Gundam Wing is never content to stay in one place, and the plot and characters are constantly on the move. This is aided by a narrative structure that follows five main characters that are rarely ever all together instead of the usual one main character, so multiple times in one episode you'll suddenly be taken to check up on the other Gundam pilots, supporting characters, or antagonists. Even outside of focusing on different characters, these characters are never spending 10 episodes in the same area and are always coming up with significant new plans that seem like they'll take the plot in a new direction, and they usually do. I don't think there was ever a time in Gundam Wing where I felt things weren't progressing fast enough, which is more than I can say for some other Gundam series. Oh yeah, and the one thing nearly everyone agrees on: the Mobile Suit designs are fantastic and some of the best in the franchise. Each of the Gundams are very distinctive in app…

Well, since this is my first time writing a review here on MyAnimeList, why not kick it off with the first anime I saw from the first to last episode: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Looking back, this anime is not as good as when I first saw it, I've learned that from watching more anime. However, this anime is still good, especially for fans interested into getting into the mecha genre, or that have never watched a Gundam series. The setting is interesting, since the anime takes place in both Space and the Earth. It contains plot twist that surprise the viewer out of nowhere, but still this is not enough to stop its main flaw, which is that at some point the plot becomes predictable. The characters can either be loved or hated. This can be good, except that the hate that one experiences for some of the characters is not one that is beneficial to the story, but one of annoyance. This hampers the story only a little. Overall though the cast of characters contain many interesting ones, some to which one can relate and others one can absolutely not (side note, possible spoilers: the main cast is perfect for yaoi shipping if you are into that kind of thing). The artistic style of this anime is one that is, to put it in interesting words, 90's. When you see this series, you say to yourself "oh, that looks from the 90's". This is good because in my opinion, the 90's had some of the best anime that was exported from Japan into Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. The mech design is really good, some are extravagant, some are simple, and some are plain down cool. Overall, Mobiles Suit Gundam Wing can be enjoyed for anime fans that are just beginning to get into the mecha genre, the story is somewhat original, though not that much. This anime is good and was enjoyed by many who first saw it toonami back in the day.

BRIEF SUMMARY IF YOU DON'T LIKE READING: The enjoyment I got from this anime was enormous. One should take into account that there was a sort of nostalgia as this was one of the first anime I saw, but nonetheless, the battles, the voice acting (japanese dub) and the individual characters made this a real treat to watch, even with the run-of-the-mill story, and old art. Very recommended. Storyline. (7-8, but I rounded down) I'm sure most have read the plot summaries, and that's basically most of the story right there although there are some political aspects that go on (particularly when dealing with the Peacecraft family) that add some intrigue. Overall, it's not overly complicated. It's cliche, but it serves its purpose. If you want to whine about "predictability" and the like...well...go whine, but this does not have an awe-inspiring storyline. Art: 8 This is difficult to judge. To break it down: If you have been accustomed to watching the new anime with the CG effects...than this art will not be very impressive to you. It's not bad enough that you frown at it. But Heero does get a little chubby at times. And Trowa sometimes shrinks. Hell...sometimes Quatre looks MANLY. For myself, the art was not distracting, and since I've been used to older anime, it was good. Sound: 7 To tell the truth, I never paid attention to the sound. I confess myself a skipper of OP's and ED's after listening to them once. What I heard was good, but really nothing special. The music within the series worked very well in that it sort of sneaks in without you noticing...and then there will be utter silence. A couple times this was used throughout the series and it's effect was good. Overall, nothing bad here, just nothing really good either. Characters: 9 Gundam Wing gets bashed from time-to-time for 'no character development.' And while, yes, there could have been more development, the characters themselves are all so unique that unless one is looking for things to hate, one can't help but enjoy it. I love when you can almost predict the character's reaction, it shows that they really nailed it and you understand the character. Or the lines are cliche. Or both. But overall, you'll enjoy the characters, or at least one of them. (C'mon...Trowa is a bad-DONKEY, how could you DISLIKE him?) Enjoyment: 10 You may think that it's odd to have a 10 come flying out of nowhere after the former numbers, but where Gundam Wing really shines is the fact that it took those good and great ingredients and turned them into something outstanding. This is one anime that left me feeling empty for a bit after it ended. THANK GOD FOR ENDLESS WALTZ. (but I felt even more empty after that one...) Final word? Watch this anime. You'll have fun with it. :) And please leave me a comment on what you thought of this review; it's my first one and I would really appreciate some feedback on it. Although, avoid the grammar picking. I KNOW I LIKE COMMAS TOO MUCH. >.

My favorite show ever! And in my opinion, one of the best mecha shows ever made! Unlike recent mecha shows, (SEED, Destiny) you dont stray away from the plot with the characters emotions and its action-packed! with a small sprinkle of romance to top it off. you haven't seen mecha until you've watched Wing, and honestly you might even regret never watching! Awesome characters, and music! a very simple protagonist-antagonist like plot, but the story never bores you! i have seen the whole series twice, and i plan to watch it a third time! I strongly recommend!!!

An awesome story arc from the first episode to the last. The animation still holds to this day but the sound effects do sound a little outdated. Great villains and lots of twists makes this a must see. In some ways it reminds me of Star Wars due to its complicated political backstory, but dont worry the plot its not that complicated. The story is divided in three acts and even in this it does feel a lot like Star Wars (old trilogy). The First Act brings us hope, the second one brings defeat and tragedy and the final brings resolution and redemption. It is the best Gundam series so far. I’m not a fan of giants robots but still I find this series rather refreshing and you might too. Give it a try, if you enjoyed Star Wars or mecha series you will not be disappointed.

What makes a classic anime? Let's find out. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is pure gold. The story is very gripping, but does drag a little and is not perfect. I was debating giving it a 9 out of 10 but the conclusion more than makes up for the sometimes seemingly unimportant battles. It is also a very complex story and you have to pay close attention to fully understand the narrative. I watched it on Toonami when I was younger, but couldn't fully understand or appreciate the anime, until now. The story is based on, War and Peace, which was a novel by Leo Tolstoy a Russian novelist. No, I haven't seen the movie Endless Waltz, but the story is complete as is. The movie is about how the space colonies and the earth sphere alliance find lasting peace, after the war. The characters are brilliant and turn a great series into a classic. I really like the interpersonal relationships between the characters and how they work together in their own ways to solve problems. They're united in purpose and strategy, but have their own tactics. The dynamics of the characters are great as they counter balance each other for example: Treize and Zecxs, Heero and Relena. The art was good and very good for a 90's cartoon. The sound was very good with two different opening and two ending songs. I thought the voice actors did an excellent job, especially for a 90's cartoon or anime series. The enjoyment was understandably great or outstanding as all plot threads were sewn together to create a classic and beautiful tapestry. I was a little wary of the ending as I've seen many series that leave you hanging or a go read the manga ending. The ending left me well pleased and even in tears. It is a classic anime series for a reason and I'll definitely be watching, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz in the future.

[2nd Edit] Leaving a review for Gundam Wing makes me feel strange, its a damn old Gundam, and the first one to arrive in the Americas, thus it is pretty famous. But I`ll try to leave you my Gundam fan feeling about it. Story: You know, you might feel like it is going to be lame because of how old is Wing, but no, you would be wrong. The story of Gundam Wing is pretty good. It has a nice political conspiracy and intrigue going on, full of repercussions. The background to all of this (the space colonies vs Earth) are well developed and all hold up in the end. I also enjoyed the shift of reasons Wing gave in terms of political motives. It goes away from the space odyssey, to heavily blame industries. This is more closely relatable to our world, where the military complexes and weapon industries are to blame for a significant war mongering. Hence, Wing might be old, but it remains relevant. Don`t worry, you will enjoy the story! Just remember, it has that classical 80's - 90's anime feeling. Art and Sound: I like it, but because I also know that Gundam Wing is a product of its time. You can`t expect some things, from a show made in the '90s. Still, the art is well done, with no crude lining or design. And the sound is as it was back then. I just don`t like the opening music. The art holds up to this day, but the music will not stick with you. Character: They are well made, but some of them suffer from the classic 80s-90s syndrome. Zechs Marquise is my favorite character of Wing, and one of my favorites in the Gundam franchise, with great development, something that was not that present back in the day but always present in the Gundam franchise. The antagonist, Treize Khushrenada is a great antagonist, also one of the best. Duo and Quatre, two pilots, have a good development, especially Quatre, which was not that common in the past. Just don`t expect much from the major pilot Heero, and for the most annoying of them all, Chang Wufei. Secondary characters, such as Noin are also pretty well done. In summary, they are impressively well done for the time but not impressive in terms of Gundam as a whole, because the series until then, was always heavily focused on character development. I`ll say that, overall, they are all good in their own right, with rare exceptions. Mechas: Ahhh, I love the mechas in Gundam Wing, and as a gunpla builder I can state something to you, Gundam Wing has one of the biggest variety of mechas in the franchise. You have 5 Gundam (with their updates), their prototype Tallgeese, and like 8 very different designs for the other Mobile Suits, all very different from Zakus and etc. Usually, even if a Gundam series have a lot of variety, you have similar formulae of Zakus and other NPC-Mobile Suits, but in Wing, they are very diverse and extremely original. Epyon is my favorite (also in my Top 5 favorite MS), followed by Tallgeese, and by Wing Zero. Overall: It is a great series, is a must-watch for mecha fans and for those who are attracted to the genre. If you are not a mecha fan, you might not get the full enjoyment, because there are no "mindblowing", "philosophical" plot twists, it is just a good story. But if you are into mechas, go on and watch, you will be very entertained. Nevertheless, it has discussion on current world problems, such as warmongoring corporations that gives a nice touch to this show.

Note: this also includes endless waltz because that technically is the “absolute” ending for the gundam wing series. After now going through more than a handful of mainline gundam shows i can’t help but wonder that these shows are too long for their own good. There seems to be some consensus from the production committees for these show to absolutely have a benchmark of about 40-50 episodes. While no necessarily a bad thing as it allows for more content to be added allowing for a more expansive scope. There are times when a show just ends up meandering around while adding nothing new to the story and characters leading to the entire thing being a waste of time and ideas, and that for me is gundam wing. The backdrop to gundam wing is initially similar to the universal century with there being a conflict between earth and the space colonies. This time it’s earth that comes off as the instigator of the conflict as they want to bring order to all that is around them even if it means using oppressive force, especially on the space colonies. This in turn leads to the events of the show, as some faction within the space colonies retaliate by sending a handful of mechs to earth which are actually the gundam. Since in this show the gundams aren’t just a better version of the run of the mill mechs, but rather a SUPER better version of them as they are made with a special gundamuim alloy that serves as appropriate plot armour and a cheeky way to keep them as gundam within the shows universe. The show itself starts off fine although overtly over dramatic sometimes for the sake of drama. the viewers get a sense for the show as it establishes its settings and characters and how the gundam pilots go about their missions. There’s alot of fighting and gundam action in between all this, and then the story takes a new turn as there is some form of coup that leads to the enemy infighting and more factions being formed. This isn’t the only time this happen, and more groups continue to form while the gundam pilots fight whoever there enemy is at that moment. There are of course some political intrigue and a lot of sweet gundam action in between all this. However alot of this just comes off as uneventful or boring because of the way most of the characters were handled. Alot of the characters in this show come across as being one-dimensional and flat. There’s really not much to work with them outside of their most basic of personalities. Even then when it comes to the gundam pilots only about half of them have an interesting personality while the rest are just so boring especially the main protagonist, Heero Yuy. this is basically true for all characters in the show as it’s not whether they have depth or complexity, but rather if you can find them relatable of endearing. There are characters that change throughout the story, but that is very different from being developed. The most change they have is their personalities and that’s usually because the plot demands so usually via identity disorder, amnesia, or some brain altering device. They never feel organic and are only for the means of spicing up the story just to chug to episodes along a bit longer. In terms of production value the show is really good compared to the last couple of titles. The characters while a bit stylized are very well defined. The mechanical design for the mechs are also good with the more common mobile suits taking inspiration from the real world military. The gundams themselves also look good and also very stylized maybe to the point of being on the edge of being ridiculous such as the nataku being like the dragon gundam although less overt. The animation for the show is also good as it bring as much mecha action as possible which are a blast to watch even if the plot is tedium. In the audio department the voice acting is good with the actors doing a well enough job making their characters sound believable. The sound effects are still similar to the ones used in previous gundam shows which is alright because it is a gundam show. The soundtrack is also good with a nice mix of orchestral and pop that are good to listen to even by itself. There are few more points worth making such as it’s overarching thematic of peace. Such as how peace should be about through pure pacifism or through order and oppression from a high ruler, or that peace is impossible as humans will always find a way to create conflict. While the ideas themselves are fine the way they are presented is more preachy and less profound. It doesn’t help that it mostly comes in the form of long speeches from one dimensional characters that just makes the entire thing superfluous. Next pint of zechs aka a blatant char clone. While not the first char clone he’s the most obvious one in terms of his character and design. While not a bad thing and being a decent character himself. It shows that even other gundam show sometimes rely on many of its own archetypes for better or worse. Final point is the endless waltz ova which are a beautiful fireworks of nothing. They just look better while adding very little to the entire show except some contrived revelations and a more decent ending. They pass as an ok complementary piece and not much else. Overall gundam wing is a very style over substance kind of show. While a bit tedious to get through, the reward is some nice gundam combat and cool explosions, Cool looking characters with drama that comes off as so bad it’s funny, and most of all a a good soundtrack.

For most Anime fans, "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" was the first introduction to the legendary mech franchise. It therefore serves as the standard for most other mech series if not all other Anime in general. And for good reason, it stands up well for itself not just as a Gundam series but as a series in general. Let's start with the story. It's fairly deep with some good twists and turns that keep the viewer interested but sometimes gets long-winded with the politics and philosophy talk. The characters are some of the most memorable in the franchise's rich roster and each gets some very good development time. I like the way women are portrayed on this show. They're more than just eye candy, they're vital parts of the story and are as equally deep as any of the men. The art is pretty well done for it's time period, and the sound is top notch as is to be expected in such a series. But let's get to the chocolate center of this show- the mechs themselves! Every Gundam and mobile suit in this series is distinct and pretty awesome. You can't wait for the next battle to see what these mega machines are gonna do to the next batch of cannon fodder! Oh, sweet, sweet 'splosion porn! The sub vs. dub is pretty much a tie. Each cast does well, but the Gundams themselves don't speak so the stars of the show need no translation. I almost get a feeling that this show was trying to combine the strengths of the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" series with the epic saga that is "Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu" and even if that's not the case, the finished product is well worth the watch even for non-mech fans. Cheers!

Nostalgia Gogols: Check! Gundam Wing was one of the original Anime I watched as a kid growing up. Having revisited them recently...no they don't hold up as well, but dammit I still enjoy them to this day! "The year is after Colony 195, After Colony 195, with the start of "Operation Meteor" Five young pilots, each possessing a weapon of unspeakable power, a gundam, depart from the colonies of space to wage a wear of independence with the oppressive Earth Sphere alliance... Set in an independent continuity from the rest of the Gundam lineup, the story still has plenty of loathsome and lovable qualities from the series that bears it's name. From obnoxious teenagers, to long-winded speeches about morality,space blah blah blah, giant robots fight, readyyy GOOO! But in a mostly serious manner the story has a good arc, drags it's heels now and again, looses steam, but builds to a suitable conclusion. Not nearly as dark in it's conclusions, the series still takes itself very seriously; which is either hilarious or mildly thought provoking? The animation of the mobile suits in action is always fun to watch, but several sequences are recycled and the quality will occasionally jump at certain points for better or worse. The *ahem* feminine male characters, and the rest of the cast look fine (better than fine really) but the scenery is there to be stomped on and blown up. Some old, faithful laser sounds that many will recognize, along with plenty of whoosh and bam at suitably large explosions. O.K. uh, then we get to the voices... I simply cannot watch the sub, but not for any complaints about quality; it's just that, having grown accustomed to certain voices, I am unable to hear anything else but them from certain characters. And aren't they a treat. The Engrish is insufferable. I pound my head against walls watching the series with how silly and clunky the dialogue is delivered...but it's like the first experience you have; can't discount how important it was, good or bad. So no sub for him! Plenty of fun, stock characters here. You can't go wrong with sociopaths teens with weapons of mass destruction. Coupled with not-Nazi's, another dude in a helmet, and so many other wonderful cliches, you won't be blown away but you'll be entertained. And even with the passage of time, I still like watching the series. The characters do change in a few ways, and the plot takes them to many places and situations. It's not groundbreaking or fantastic, but still engaging and enjoyable. I convinced my naive mother to let me watch the damn show back when I was eight or ten or something, and after she tried to ban me from it I simply went over a friends house and watched it all the way through. Gundam Wing, a childhood introduction to all the soliloquy's and silliness that can be Anime.

Gundam Wing has a lot of issues, but I genuinely like many of its aspects in spite of them. To start with my problems, the animation is not very good. It relies way too much on reused animation for battles, this makes most of the battles hard to differentiate from eachother and is my main problem with the show. I also would like to mention that there are two back-to-back recap episodes which are kind of lame, but the animation quality seems to increase for a few episodes after those. Some of the sound effects also feel overused, much of the time you hear the same rapid fire gunshot sound effect for different weapons and it gets distracting. I also think that the main character in particular has a weak introduction, trying to focus on how cool he is which fell a little short for me, and I didn't like him very much until much later in the series. Some character backstories are straight up not here and you have to watch Endless Waltz or read the Gundam Wing: Glory of the Losers manga to see those. There is also an important plot point that should've been acknowledged more than one time near the end, it's properly developed in Endless Waltz, but that should've been more well developed at the beginning of the entire story like it is in the previously mentioned manga. This means you never understand why some characters are the way they are and hurts the story. I really like the characters in this story, aside from the previously mentioned bad start for the main character. Treize in particular is great whenever he's on screen, but I do like all the main characters. They are the best part of the series in my opinion and make the series for me. The story is pretty good for the most part, aside from a few contrived moments, I think its very interesting in the way it shows wars with how it affects the world and the people in it. I also like the music, the openings are great and the music in the show complements whatever is happening while retaining a consistent style that feels unique to Gundam Wing. However, there's one song that plays towards the end that felt suspiciously similar to the theme from the Mortal Kombat live-action film which was a little questionable. Overall, it's hard to recommend Gundam Wing, even though I like it. I find what it's going for to be great, but the execution is very sloppy.

Gundam Wing is one of those anime i used to watch when i was young and since then it is remained one of my favorite anime of all time. Definitely one of my favorite Gundam. Recently re-watched after years and, even if rarely i write reviews, i decided that it was time to drop one which is written with the mind of an young man and is more critical. Note: English is not my mother language but i wanted to write a review anyway so I apologize in advance for eventual grammar errors. I also want to warn people for possible minor spoilers that might be present in this review especially in the "Character" section but i couldn't refrain myself to write the reasons in order to explain my opinion of them. --------------------------- Story The story revolves around political tensions between Earth and Space Colonies, the latter ones being subjugated by the former. In order to free themselves from the yoke of the tyrannical military rule of the UESA (United Earth Sphere Alliance), the Colonies send five high trained mecha pilots clandestinely disguised as civilians to Earth to strike and cause mayhem from inside. To say it all the story isn't boring, at the half of the anime there are two recap episodes that personally i found useless i would have understand if it was a much longer anime. The only thing about the story that i didn't like is all these sides changing, factions that at the begining were enemies become good later and viceversa, same for some of the characters which in part i reviewed in the "Character" section below. The rest is fine. Last episodes are probably my favorites in part due to much more action, i particularly enjoyed episode 41. Also, i'm the only one who liked the political part? I noticed some people disliked it because boring. In my opinion it gives a more mature touch to the anime. Obviously more battles instead of talks, the better. Art Gundam Wing has the typical 90's and early 2000 style so while can still be awesome (and nostalgic) for some people like me perhaps can be a bit outdated for newcomers anime fans. Characters also have a typical 90's look, surely i can't complain about how they are drawn, i especially liked the style of the miltary uniforms, reminds me early modern Europen armies. Specific characters that i particularly liked for their design are: Treize, Dorothy and Quinze. Vehicles, mechs and Space Colonies design are quite nice (Bulge and Libra are awesome). Battles are cool, explosions however are not that visually appealing. A thing that i noticed is that some scenes like mechs destruction and explosions are reused in the same way for different battles, i don't know and i don't remember if this is a Gundam series thing, especially the older ones (been quite awhile since my last watched Gundam show). Sound Not much to say about the music. There are few pieces that i really enjoyed (especially battle themes) but those few are great. Songs performed by Two-Mix are really cool, worthy of notice is "Rhythm Emotion" which i always loved. Some other tracks i loved are: "Eternity and infinity are in these hands", "Gundam Attack", "Sandy Clock of a Sad Color", "True Figure of Truth", "Using the Cloak of Darkness". Characters Most of the characters in this anime are presented way more mature than their actual age, especially the five Gundam pilots, of course this is in part due to their past experiences and military training. Some characters develop their personality through the events and completely change during the second half of the anime. I will limit myself to comment few ones. That being said among the five main protagonists the only one that i always loved is Duo Maxwell, he's simply the most likeable, cool, funny guy and most important he remains the same for all the show. About Heero Yuy, the main protagonist, initially he is presented as a cold blooded soldier trained to fulfill his missions at all costs in reality he's suppressing his emotions that might hinder his obejctives. His first meet with Relena seems to be the turning point of his personality, after that he will gradually change. I could also add him to the cool ones. Then, there is Treize Khushrenada, what can i say about him? The classic sophisticated calculating villian who do bad things while acting calm and cool. I like his design but seriously, he could have spared us his sermons about honor and chivalry that would fit better for a medieval world, they are way too exaggerated and seems out of place for a futuristic series like Gundam. There is no honor in war, especially in advanced technology warfare. Among the characters that annoyed me notable mentions are Wufei for the G-Team, i've never seen such a hateful character. Relena, her obession over peace and Heero are just ridiculous and boring. Another one is Lady Une but only during the second part when she acts as diplomat between Earth and Space Colonies, seriously... her personality switch is just crazily stupid, i definitely preferred her as OZ officer villain to be honest. Lastly, there is Zechs, while his design is really cool i cannot withstand his behaviour, he's perhaps the character that changes the most during the course of the story, he starts from being an agent of OZ obsessed with his revenge for his lost homeland only to join a terroristic faction and become an enemy of OZ and Earth (and thus of his Kingdom) later in the anime to promote his ideals of "peace". 0 coherence. Sometimes he even sides with the protagonists to fulfill his objectives, which are basically personal and involve simple rivalry between him, Heero and his initially friend Treize. As a villains fan of anime/movies etc... i've a particular eye over them and i never liked those who change sides or play double game or Anti-Villains to say it short. The anime also features a narrator voice (not appearing in the show) that personally, i liked, however i noticed some dislike by some people due to his "too political way" to narrate events. Overall As one of the anime i spent my childhood with i cannot say i didn't enjoy it. While Gundam Wing is worthy a try for everyone who love sci-fi, military and mechs large scale battles, it is particularly indicated for nostalgic of old times mecha and space opera anime lovers. Anime newcomers perhaps will find some thing better and less "vintage" around.

Gundam Wing was one of the more overrated entries to the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise as at the time this show hit American airwaves there were more websites dedicated to this show than any other Gundam show. At the time this show was on Cartoon Network I was going through a bit of a purist phase as I wasn't into Wing since my introduction to Gundam was through the 1st Mobile Suit Gundam movie. Also I had desire to watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series. But I soon sat down and watched the entire series on DVD and I didn't think it was that bad... overrated perhaps but I rated this better than 00 or Ironblood Orphans.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing or "Wing Gundam" is arguably the most popular Gundam in the franchise, being many fans' first introduction to the decades-long franchise. Following the story of five Gundam pilots and their quest to rebel against their oppressors, it's an engaging series that has captivated many fans and newcomers to anime over the years. As a huge fan of Gundam, I've heard and read about the praises Wing gets so naturally, I was excited to watch it. So, does it live up to the fame? Story - In the futuristic After Colony 195, Earth has formed a worldwide alliance and most of mankind have settled in space via colonies. When the Earth alliance rule began to oppress the colonies, several colonies began developing special mobile suits known as a "Gundam" to retaliate against them. The plot follows five Gundam pilots: antisocial hero, Heero Yuy; wisecracking joker Duo Maxwell; stoic loner Trowa Barton; kind optimist Quarte Winner; and arrogant showoff Wufei Chang as they battle the Earth alliance and their subdivision, the OZ. The anti-war themes of the series is prevalent here and you get to experience the cast's ordeals as they struggle to find a cause to fight for. Despite being a confusing mess sometimes, I enjoyed the story and its themes. Still, I had some issues with it being contrived at times with numerous coincidents happening and characters getting plot-armor like crazy, constantly escaping danger like falling on their heads from deadly heights without a scratch. Characters - Each of the five leads were interesting and get a decent bit of character development, like Heero showing basic empathy, Duo being snarky, Trowa slowly opening up to his comrades, and Quatre (while being the kindest) shows his darker side at one point. Sadly, Wu Fei is the weakest of the bunch, as he struggles to grow and remains arrogant till the last episode. While their personalities clash initially, seeing the five leads working together as a team by the end was really cool and made for some memorable moments. My favorite was Duo as he stands out compared to the rest, with his bubbly personality being a breath of fresh air (though be can be a total badass with his Deathscythe if need be). Relena is the poster girl of the show and while she has a reputation of being annoying, but I found her character to be good with an interesting arc. Hearing her screening "Heero!" every episode got annoying, though. The supporting cast like Noin, Sally, Hilde, Catherine, and the Gundam scientist were nice too. Zechs Marquise was a great villain (and Char clone) with a solid arc about him finding a reason to exist as a soldier when wars aren't needed. Traize Kusheranada, Zechs' best friend and co-villain was equally cool and calculating, challenging Zechs and the Gundam pilots behind the scenes. Other than that, the other side villains were all one-note and generic. Presentation - For a nearly 30 year old anime, Wing holds up pretty well with the stylish designs of the Gundams being the highlight. Each was distinct and unique, matching the personality of its pilot (Deathsyche and Epyon were my favorites!). The character designs were great though i didn't like some choices like Trowa's hair looking like a broom and Dorothy's eyebrows being disgustingly gross-looking. Other than that, the backgrounds were nice and I liked the deigns of the Taurus, Leo, and Aries suits. I watched Wing sub and the performances were good, especially Zechs (whose the same voice as Dio!) and Traize being standouts. The soundtrack was fantastic, packing many great tracks that fit the tone. The opening themes "Just Communication" and "Rhythm Emotion" as well as the ending theme "It's Just Love!" are catchy all-time classics. Overall- While it didn't exceed my expectations, I had a lot of fun with Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. The story was a confusing mess at times though I still enjoyed watching it to see how things unfold for the cast, who I grew to like. The Gundam designs were awesome too and that's important for a Gundam show. If you're a Gundam fan, then watch Wing. It may not be as great as the Universal Century shows, but it delivers on the action and themes we've come to expect from the franchise. Newcomers will find it a fun watch, especially if you love of seeing giant robots causing all sorts of destruction (the first two episodes give you that and more). All in all, a great anime and a classic in the mecha genre.