Gundam Wing: A Good Series Held Back

[@igorwisniewski9412]

Wing will forever be a series where guy said "I will kill you" to a girl and it worked as pick up line.

[@Skycube100]

Guy: I WILL TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF Girl: u-u, you makin me wet 🤤 I'll leave now lol

[@bntrs]

I'm now imagining a weird theater kid trying to use that as a pickup line cause he saw it on Toonami

[@justsayingguy]

@@bntrs if i have a kid... thats the first thing i teach him

[@aa-qx1cg]

that's because this series was designed for a female audience. the directors intentionally wanted to market a series to girls. and females love being abused by a "dangerous" man that they try to tame.

[@LoneWolfRanging]

Sigma rule clip that lol

[@dungeonsanddobbers2683]

"The war has only had about 99,000 casualties" And Treize could name every one of them.

[@Kimvanloocke]

Darlin, Noventa how can i forget them i can only grieve for those who died for peace Treize khushrenada

[@BryonYoungblood]

@@Kimvanloocke You can feel there how he KNEW how much pain he had caused with the people who died fighting for him, and how it ate at his heart, even as he let Wufei kill him. Treize may have seemed evil, but he wasn't truly, fully evil. He just was a man who felt the ends justified the means, which made him very compelling.

[@Waderader]

Every fucking one

[@kimarykorlumiose7728]

ah, Wing, the place where my Gundam journey began. I'll definitely say the show had it's flaws, but hot damn the Mobile Suit designs slap. edit: finally, someone acknowledges Noin. I never hear people mention her.

[@wendellstephens6311]

Noin aint my best girl, but she is pretty great.

[@kimarykorlumiose7728]

@@wendellstephens6311 I wouldn't say she's best girl in the series, but she's heavily slept on.

[@wendellstephens6311]

@@kimarykorlumiose7728 Agreed.

[@ucitymetalhead]

Man i fell in love with the enemy mobile suits i wanted to army build the hell out of them.

[@milesgerschefske6231]

Noin is cool but I only ever hear oblivion female npc noises when she talks its really distracting

[@revantobias8567]

I love the couple of parts where Trieze is speaking and the people listening are like "I don't understanding what you're saying."

[@laststrike4411]

Sham, somehow, I knew you were going to be one of those types.

[@ericj6636]

@Shaman Xeed Dude you're copy pasting that into multiple reply threads. Really?

[@Noobnormality]

yeah, i remember everytime when treize makes a speech, i always replay the scene back to understand what he was saying, only to not understand anything what he was saying. Like, all i can hear him say is "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I officially denounce myself from oz".

[@bongerman42069]

Its sad this show didnt live up its potential. A terrible production schedule, and the director Ikeda (you may know from Inuyasha) left after episode 27 due to an unhealthy schedule around the show. Also note production of the show was right after G Gundam finished, and many of the staff were working on Lord of Lords Ryu Knight and the OVAs when starting Wing so their staff were already burnt out, not to mention all the edits and revisions from the staff were forced to made for some noticable pacing issues. Its a miracle the show was even completed, an even bigger one that it wasnt completly terrible! I still have some fond memories of the show, and still to this day it has my favourite intro song of any show!

[@hitandruncommentor]

You mean people don’t get “it is hard to believe that war was once a simple matter of a flip of a switch or the pressing of a button. Those mobile dolls and the fortress behind them are the epitome of that philosophy. Yet when the soldier is removed both victory and defeat become meaningless and war never ends.” That’s hard for people to understand? Again pardon if I didn’t get the exact quote I haven’t watched wing in nearly fifteen years but such truths from this show stick with me.

[@nick0875]

One thing I liked about Gundam Wing was that when they initially got into space to fight the mobile dolls the show made those mobile suits look like a formidable threat to even the Gundams. Things don't go well for the two pilots who try to fight them head on, Duo and Wufei, and the others are forced into hiding in order to evade OZ. It was a good change from how easily they were able to wipe out the mobile suits they encountered on Earth despite being heavily outnumbered in most encounters.

[@orinanime]

Thank you for praising Lucrezia Noin. She's awesome and sadly often overlooked.

[@BlackEpyon]

Noin & Zechs = best couple! And surprisingly little drama to that relationship, compared to so many other Gundam couples. But you can tell how much they care for each other, by how selfless they are towards each other.

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@BlackEpyon I am so mad KZbin delete "Zechs is coming."

[@GozieZilla]

I agree her character was the most sane throughout the series

[@jaypeterman9721]

Gundam Wing shouldn’t really be considered an introduction to Gundam, but more like an introduction to anime instead

[@Matanumi]

With mechs....

[@greyfox78569]

Amen, just amen. It was my first gundam series and one my first anime. Tenchi Muyo was my first series.

[@Cryptic0013]

It's strange to think of a generation that uses anything but DBZ as their gateway drug to anime.

[@Kangstor]

@@Cryptic0013 well mine was Ninja Scroll and Magic Knight Rayearth i was watching anime before these two just not realized it was anime and it was kinda hard to discern the American cropped ones from actual ones since we were getting all kind of them I mean probably among of the first 5 cartoons i have ever watched were Voltron and Robotech probably along with Tom and Jerry, He-man and Looney Toones (I think mickey mouse and donald duck came a bit later)

[@BlackEpyon]

My introduction to anime when I was a kid was Battle for Moon Station Dallos, and Techno Police (which you've probably never heard of). Then came DBZ, Gundam Wing, Bubblegum Crisis 2040 (then the original), Tenchi Muyo, Gundam X (one of my favourites) and others.

[@snakepliskin1969]

To this day I consider Treize one of the best antagonist in the franchise

[@tgatt5759]

@Higher Image Status they'd slaughter the name too. TREES Cash-ree-nad-aye

[@Ginga]

When you analyse everything Treize did, he wasn’t even an antagonist.

[@tedhodge4830]

Treize gets points for not being an oblivious Char clone wearing a ridiculous helmet. At least he was original, but he was no Haman Karn.

[@NoOne-us9xv]

Treize is absolutely the closest that Wing gets to an actually interesting character, but they still just don't flesh him out enough to really capitalize on it. They seemed to have no idea what to do with him.

[@ZAK31591]

The ideas in Wing are friggin fantastic. Say what you want about the characters and such, the macro-story was glorious.

[@jackbauer4186]

It's the best geo-political anime I can remember.

[@DIEGhostfish]

I dunno when it became clear that Zechs was just going to speedrun Char's arc right on down to an axis style drop it felt a little trite.

[@MrLucky7s]

@@DIEGhostfish The issue here being that Wing manages to do that arc properly in about 10 episodes, whereas to fully comprehend why Char goes nuts you have to watch 150ish episodes of anime, read (at least) one manga, watch an OVA or read a graphic novel and then finally watch the feature length movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Char's arc, more so than Zechs', but boiiiii, do you need to work for it.

[@NoOne-us9xv]

@@MrLucky7s You think Zechs is "doing it properly"? Lmfao. Watch the MSG movie trilogy. Watch Zeta (watch the shitty trilogy if you want; it's way worse but it'll suffice). Watch CCA. Voila, you have Char's whole arc, except it actually works. Zechs has no substance. None. Zero.

[@elgusaniiiodeljuego6823]

I think is way to messy for a 50 episode show.

[@viralmasquerade]

It was so weird how the end credits of Wing treated Relina like she was some adorable best girl.

[@zephyrr108]

But she is.

[@melodykubiak5850]

Hi~ This is Melody, webmistress of The Shooting Stars Collection: A Gundam Wing Image Archive. Gundam Wing does have some problems with it, but the series is enduring. We started our site in 2001, during its Toonami run. We still get visitors from all over the world--over 50 countries, which shows how special the series is in fans' hearts. I was 40 when my 13-year old daughter and I started the site, and it appealed to me so much, having grown up during the Vietnam War. The message of pacifism appealed to that part of me. The writers were likely around my age so they may have had that in mind. I've never seen the other Gundam series, except for bits of G Gundam, so I can't compare them....Tallgeese is our most viewed mobile suit, followed by Wing Gundam/Zero and the three incarnations of Deathscythe....The biggest problem for me is the timeline. The story starts in May, when Relena has her birthday. There is a month of complete inactivity with the gundams during the month Heero is recovering from self-detonating in episode 10. The series ends on Christmas Eve the same year. The story couldn't possibly realistically fit into its time frame. Too much happened to have it happen in only a few months, especially with the formation of the Treize Faction and White Fang. It just couldn't go so quickly. The thing fans of the series love is the development of the characters and their interactions with each other. Relena grows so much. I get something new out of GW every time I watch the series. I only watch it every few years because it is so special to me that I don't want to "wear it out" by over-viewing it. Maybe you had to be there at the time it was first broadcast in the US, when it was only 5 years old, to get the full impact? I don't know. You had some interesting things to say though. Dr. J explains about Heero to Relena in episode 5 and you will find out more about Wufei's and the other characters' backstories in Endless Waltz. Have you read the backstory manga Episode 0? ...Our site is massive, over 9000 images plus so much more. We do not support the new Frozen Teardrop or Glory of the Losers, which we explain on the site. Those follow-ups contradict the ending of EW. For us, the series, EW, and the four official manga comprise Gundam Wing.... Every time I get to the end of the last episode I say to myself, "Wow--what a series!"

[@danianfocus]

Very well said, I feel the same way about the show which I began watching around the time I was in middle school / high school. It went way over my head back then a lot of the philosophical and political concepts, but I knew this show had something special and sparked my imagination as a young teen. I delved into the manga after I finished the series and Endless Waltz. Bought and built some of the Bandai model kits as well. I probably came across your website way back then. I loved everything to do with GW in particular. The Gundam pilots back stories are fascinating. Wufei is a very conflicted character and has more depth than I think a lot of people give him credit for, I enjoy watching his character progression every time I rewatch the series.

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

I'm glad to see that there are others who reject Frozen Teardrop; it was a cash grab and nothing more (and IMO the entire franchise had begun going this way with Seed/Destiny, and Wing was one of the casualties). I grew up with Wing, and it will always be my favorite series in the Gundam franchise. Thank you for all of your hard work on behalf of the Wing fanbase.

[@jimjohn6520]

@@shinigamimiroku3723 iron blooded orphans is better. I loved Wing but it is just not as good. It could have been the best though.

[@dsh3ffect774]

@@jimjohn6520 Gundam seed and iron blooded orphans are the top 2 for me

[@wlidbill5261]

i loved gundamn wing and the models i hope me and my son can build and paint them while watching wing

[@dylanmckenzie97]

wasn't it stated that the colonies had all communications blocked between each other and that's why the 5 gundam pilots were never sent down as an established team or knew about each other.

[@Xeno-The-Wanderer]

there’s also 4 of the 5 deciding independently to change the entire operation

[@Nimi450]

It was in fact established post episode 10 when OZ begins to "free" the colonies of the remnants of the Alliance and re-establishing communication and commerce between the colonies.

[@patriots227nick]

It was

[@ericj6636]

​@@Nimi450 seems like Oz actually legitimately freed the colonies and the only reason it was questionable was because of who Oz was. They did it for power, influence, and resources, sure, but they still did it.

[@Nimi450]

@@ericj6636 Ho absolutely, and if anything had Lady Une not been going completely insane there and stuck to her benevolent approach maybe things could have gone without anything negative happening. Only main issue is the fact Oz was starting to fall apart and split by then, making the situation a whole more difficult and ugly than it could have been.

[@HolyknightVader999]

Wing is the first Gundam show we all saw as kids.

[@TheTrueAdept]

Well, when I was watching, Toonami was showing both UC0079 (and later UC0083: Stardust Memory) AND Gundam Wing at the same time.

[@jet-blackjo2455]

I am a bit younger and the first gundam i ever saw was build fighters

[@DevilmanEnvoy]

The first Gundam I saw was G Gundam, what a fun thing to return to.

[@MaxHDAvenger]

Same here, probably my favorite Gundams are Wing Zero, Wing Gundam, Heavyarms/kai, Deathscythe (TV), Altron, and Epyon. My favorite grunts are: Leo, Taurus, Virgo, and Serpent (from Endless Waltz)

[@HolyknightVader999]

@CommandoDude That was the case for many Toonami fans.

[@KneeKrusher]

When I was a kid oh mannnn, getting home in time for toonami gundam wing and dbz was my life.

[@tgatt5759]

I'd get so pissed if the bus was late or changed routes 🤬🤬🤬

[@dappercrow1454]

For those wondering there is a Manga, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Glory of the Losers. It is similar to Gundam: The Origin, as in it is a retelling of Wing with the story cleared up. and fixes most of the problems you have with Wing.

[@yeetyateyote5570]

I am reading this instead of/before watching wing, can affirm it slaps hard

[@AssaultRider555]

@@yeetyateyote5570 what website are you reading it on!

[@yeetyateyote5570]

NabilRider555 oh sorry it’s actually my buddy’s paper volumes haha! Bet you could maybe find it on mangadex

[@AssaultRider555]

@@yeetyateyote5570 oh dang, lucky! Mangadex doesn't have all the chapters, only like... 75, I think?

[@srntnjl523]

That manga is awesome. I hope they make an anime/multi-part OVA version of it much like how they made Gundam: The Origin

[@treizTUBE]

"Why didn't the doctors know about eachother, let the pilots know." The pilots weren't informed of the other efforts because that would put those others at risk if the pilot were captured. When the doctors were reunited they marveled at the fact that each one of them was able to complete their mission. Opsec is a pretty basic concept that you either know about while watching the show and it deepens the experience, or you don't and it doesn't really matter to the overall story. . "Treize hates war. Treize's goal is to create a trajedy so horrific it terrifies mankind into pacifism." This is not Treize's goal at all. I don't think you understand him. Treize says repeatedly that he loves people, that he loves and finds it beautiful that people fight and die in war. He admonishes Tubarov that wars begin and end with people. The show starts out with the alliance oppressing the Earth and the Colonies. The reason Treize had the Alliance leadership killed, apart from his plan to dismantle the Alliance was their reform leadership that planned to change how the alliance does things. Treize states that the world will be taken in the wrong direction, and he has them killed by the Gundams. . Treize turns on Oz when the Foundation starts using Oz to oppress the people, not just because of the mobile dolls. Treize respects the Gundam pilots because they, unlike the people of Earth and the colonies, chose to fight for their own futures. Treize builds the Epyon in secret and rather than using it to make some grand show he gives it to Heero. He also refuses to take down Oz in the same way he took down the Alliance. . Treize's goal was to inspire people to take action for their own future. He constantly talks about people doing things, not having things handed to them, or them being ruled over. This is why he employed Leo suits in the final battle and ordered that Libra be destroyed. If he really wanted a trajedy, like Zechs and Dorothy did, he would have allowed Libra to crash on Earth. Wufei didn't understand this until the end of Enless Waltz when he shows up with a crowd of people standing in opposition crying out that they will take control of their own lives. . "Heero wanted to die" I don't buy this either. The doctor refered to Heero as his weapon, rather than the gundam. Heero is dedicate to a fault on completing his mission, and failing that, limiting the fallout of his failure as much as possible, up to and including taking himself out to prevent the enemy from gaining intel from him. Heero is extraordinarily well trained in numerous highly technical fields, combatives, espionage, etiquette, social graces, sports, history, philosophy, horsemanship, etc etc etc. He has all the tools he needs to accomplish his missions, and blend in with high society, without standing out too much. You don't find that kind of exacting care and motivation in the suicidal members of the population. I'm sure he deeply regrets what happened to that girl and her dog, and uses that to motivate him to do better going forward. . It seems to me the reason you think Wing is missing pieces is because you came to it with preconceived notions that almost but don't quite fit. I suggest you re-watch it as though it were a completely new show unrelated to Gundam at all and see things as they are presented, not as you are expecting them to be.

[@DreadCorazon]

Thank u!

[@andrewdennis0]

Good analysis

[@Che1seabluesdrogba11]

Thing is all the back story stuff we didn't know until episode ZERO and endless waltz, I think this guy is talking about if youre just presented with the 49 episode anime

[@NevisYsbryd]

I think his claim that Heero wanted to die has _some_ merit, although not as he was framing it. His conviction in pursuit of his mission includes, I think, not suicidal ideation per se, but a cold disregard for himself and his survival. He (especially initially) views himself as a weapon and not a person; he is expendable, and his personal feelings and wellbeing are of tertiary importance. Rather than (initially) using it to move forward, I think he essentially views his life as already forfeited on account of thr girl and is paying for it with his life, not by dying but by permanent atonement by way of preventing (or at least minimizing) such incidents moving forward. Hence, I think the video has a point about Heero developing beyond this over the course of the series, culminating in his assertion that he will survive-not out of duty or responsibility but for his personal care for those his death and absence would affect and, most significantly, for himself and his own desire to live. Otherwise, yeah, I largely agree with your comment. While I think the narrative and character beats could have used more buildup, I otherwise agree.

[@Stervelar]

I think you have a point with Treize, even though his actions, that being his goal, are rather questionable many times. But Heero standed out on every place he went, he went to school and he was the point of attention since day one, and his actions didn't help at all, he might have the proper education to blend into high society, but he didn't know how to properly behave like a normal teenager or at least, he hardly ever did on screen if ever, the reactions of his classmates almost every time he was at school say it all, so fans would have to assume, Trowa and Duo did a better job at that, not perfect though. You can love the series all you want, nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't mean that anyone who finds things to fix in there are wrong. Heero had some weird self destructive issues, which are not aligned with the "complete the mission" and "perfect soldier" thing, since he tried to suicide in situations where he'd make more trouble than anything, like when Duo shot him, he miscalculated or something, the torpedos didn't do shit, then he was all calm thinking he accomplished his mission and could die in peace while he accomplished nothing in Earth and his gundam and all the tech in there was out there available for his enemies or Duo who he didn't know about, the same when he met Relena at the beach and let's not talk about the massive plot armor when he blew himself up along with the gundam (the plot armor in the series is borderline ridiculous too). Good concept on his character, but far from being "perfect soldier". Wing has many missing pieces, I watched it back on Toonami as a kid, no preconception, I though it' was the greatest thing ever but then you grow up and see that the op actually had a pretty grounded critic even if missed on certain characters like Treize and ignored other issues he didn't mention, the thing, is on wether or not we're willing to see that the series is not perfect and lack to be a true masterpiece, like any other series in or out of the franchise we watched as kids, a matter of being able to criticise what we love with passion and recognize that could have done better with such amazing ideas.

[@zombies8cody]

I still revisit Wing about once a year or so. The show feels slow like things aren't moving, but in reality the dynamics from episode to episode shift rapidly. You are right in your assessment that we don't fully explore each of the characters, or at least not as obvious as you would like normally. Everything is subtle to the point of being completely lost; but that is probably a big part of the reason as to why I revisit Wing more than any other Gundam series or most series in general. I always feel like I notice something new each time I watch it. Basically, I totally agree with your assessment, but for me personally, that is probably why it has stuck in my brain all of these years.

[@chettmanly1876]

From what I remember there was some behind the scenes conflict with one of the writers midway through the series pre-production that caused them to not used a lot of the character writing he came up with. This eventually got sorted out, but by then they were already pretty far into actual production so they used the manga and Endless Waltz to fill in the gaps that were originally going to be in the series proper. I'll have to look into this again to refresh my memory. Edit: I forgot to specify it was in pre-production.

[@TheTrueAdept]

From what I understand, there was a major hiccup as Gundam X wrapped up early, and due to Bandai's policies at the time, Wing had to be extended to 'fill in the gap' between shows. This was one of the few things that were detrimental to the show's overall quality.

[@melodykubiak5850]

Gundam Wing is one of the few anime in which the manga was made after the series, rather than the other way around. The original author only had control over the story line up to episode 10, in which Heero self-detonates. The manga combines instances in the story that don't make sense when spliced together like that.

[@ForestOfSleep]

I feel like 00 addressed a lot of the problems I had with Wing. Mainly the reasons for why everything happens are clearly fleshed out.

[@JordonPatrickMears11211988]

Isnt 00 part of the main mobile suit series and not wing?

[@davidarreola965]

@@JordonPatrickMears11211988 No 00 is its own universe seperate from the main timeline. Both wing and 00 are self contained.

[@JordonPatrickMears11211988]

I've yet to watch it. But do know it's one of the better series.

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

The thing is that, in the 90s, a series' whole story was fleshed out through multiple levels of media; for Wing, this happens via Endless Waltz and Episode Zero.

[@aozf05]

@@shinigamimiroku3723 I don't really agree with that. All the 90s anime I've seen are pretty self-contained.

[@evecampbell3069]

I think one of the problems was that Wing *had* to be a specific number of episodes. They had one Gundam series finish off then immediately the next day or something Wing started. Then the next day after Wing ended they started a new show. If Wing had a chance to make its own schedule then I'm sure they would have been able to keep in some of the stuff they had to take out.

[@handel1111]

Endless Waltz has more storytelling than the actual series itself

[@npc6817]

defeating Treize's philosophy in a single step "I will create a conflict so bloody and tragic that people are going to detest war." "Why are you doing that?" "Because I detest war as it can be so bloody and tragic- oh I see the issue"

[@Salt0fTheEarth]

Wing is sort of like a grand tour of the original Tomino UC series + CCA, squeezed into 49 episodes.

[@dariusrahmanian1215]

The series basically starts off at the tale end of the OYW then rapidly accelerates through Z and ZZ style plot points till it reaches the CCA stly e final battle

[@TheloneOokami13]

I never looked at it that way, you’re right

[@DoctorKnow00]

Wing was likely set up to reintroduce audiences too young to see MSG (1979), Zeta (1985) and CCA (1989) during their first run. Wing crams the broad strokes of those elements into one series. A "what-if AU" Bandai wanted.

[@christopherferrin5662]

Probably the most memeworthy moment in the entirety of gundam is when Heero gets This is a Wendy's-ed after standing up and describing the plot of gundam writ large to a classroom after introducing himself.

[@ForgedHorizons]

@Shaman Xeed i hope you yourself are being sarcastic.

[@EpicSteve23]

So gundam wing was actually re made as a manga called Glory of the Losers, it adds a lot of the backstory of characters that has been added sense wing ended, including the stuff from endless waltz. It uses the manga format to give more breathing room for the story to progress. All in all it is a better telling of wings story than the actual anime. Another fun thing to note is the manga uses Katoki Hajime's redesigns of the gundams in the series instead of the Tv versions

[@wingshad0w00982]

Hot take: Gundam Wing has the best first episode of all the Gundam shows. Whatever follows it is questionable, but as a blind series intro, it’s great.

[@AssaultRider555]

Fucking edgy as fuck. I loved it. Also, Relena horny.

[@thomasffrench3639]

Hard disagree. The best first episode was probably MSG 0079 from what I’ve seen

[@alejo_reviews4414]

Gundam Wing is an incredibly special show for me. It was the first gundam show I ever watched (thanks, toonami), it got me to look into the other anime, and I eventually bought the whole set on eBay back in 2003. It's been quite some time since I first watched it and I've seen a lot of anime since then, so its flaws are more apparent to me whenever I revisit it. Still, this show is awesome in more ways than one. The music, the mecha designs, and the over the top action that's showcased pretty much every episode. I realize some will disagree with me, but I don't mind that it's not the most well crafted story the gundam universe has to offer. It does enough well to the point where I can enjoy what I enjoy. To me, it's kind of how you can recognize that fast food isn't healthy or the best food out there, but you'll still end up having it every once in a while.

[@DementedDistraction]

I just rewatched all of Wing after not having seen it since I was in high school (about 20 years), and I still enjoyed the hell out of it - and though a few character motivations can seem muddled at times, of all the series I've seen Wing has maintained it's rank in my eyes as the best. Part of me believes this downtrend in Wing's reputation is more the result of hot takes and contrarian mindsets trying to make a statement, as opposed to legitimate constructive criticism, so I appreciate your level-headed approach to this topic. That said, I definitely disagree with most of your assessment of the mobile suit designs - I really like the more toned down designs of the Gundams in this series compared to those which came after (especially the overly elaborate ones with literal wings, ridiculous random pointy bits, and all sorts of trussed up kibble that makes them look like humanoid chandeliers), with the Tallgeese 1 being my favorite mobile suit/mecha/robot design across any anime.

[@aozf05]

Wing is best over all the other Gundams? I have to really disagree. The Universal Century has way better series. Wing was really cool when you're a kid. It's really edgy, the Gundam designs are cool, the action really hits the spot, and characters sometimes say cool things, but the story isn't very clear or focused and doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you pay attention so of course kids would love it when they don't have that critical eye. Most of the problems fly over their heads. The characters do some really nonsensical things despite the ideals they regurgitate and the show employs a lot of fridge logic. Kids loved it as one of their first exposures to anime but most people are able to look back at it with more experienced eyes and see it's an incredibly flawed piece of work and not as good as everyone thought it was as kids. I, for one, was really drawn to the Gundam designs as a kid but I saw the story for the dumpster fire it was. Even G Gundam was better than Wing. Gundam 00 revisited a lot of the same concepts but did it way better. A group of Gundam pilots on a secret mission to end all war makes a lot more sense when they're working _together_ for an organization with an actual mission plan to make it happen. Setsuna is a much more compelling "stoic killer" than Heero. Rather than being a trained assassin with his emotions beaten out of him, Setsuna is a child soldier who witnessed firsthand the horrors of war and that's what motivates him to become a Gundam pilot. He's a more layered protagonist than Heero. Even Iron Blooded Orphans has a better stoic protagonist than Wing. Also, most of the "pointy" winged designs you're referring to are probably from Seed and Seed Destiny which are also not among the better Gundam series.

[@DementedDistraction]

@@aozf05 I'm glad I'm not 'most people'.

[@santiagogarcia1606]

@@DementedDistraction I adore wing as well, I dare say that wing is my favorite alternate universe show in the franchise other than IBO. Wing is "special" in my opinion, that being that it's either liked a lot, hated, or in the middle, it just depends. While I do agree with the whole plot bit where the pilots didn't know about eachother, with endless waltz. it's revealed that they didn't know about one another because either A, they went against the orders and took the gundams to do what they wanted instead of what the colonies wanted Like Duo and Wufei, and the rest having changed orders to an extent. and of course, their more mysterious backstories, if I'm right, unfortunately they couldn;t develop much of the backstories due to time constraints. that sucked but I loved it nevertheless. and the designs. I love the designs, the classic wing designs are great I love them and with them being improved or changed in EW or GOL, in my opinion, there was no bad gundam deisgn I loved them all.

[@Lelouchxzero1]

Trieze needed more time. Halfway through after he removes himself he disappears, suddenly is found by Heero and given the Epyon only to disappear again until Relena comes to power. All the while his soldiers are fighting and dying to Oz's new mobile dolls.

[@carnut015]

I will always love the music from this series. It has been years since I have seen it and this review makes me want to go back and re-watch it.

[@RealLifeRyan]

I definitely have a lot of nostalgia for Wing. I watched it every day on toonami right after DBZ. I never noticed it’s flaws then but even with them I still think it’s a super enjoyable watch 👊

[@thecountofmontecristo2796]

Zecks feels like 0079, Zeta, CCA all in a 49 episode series.

[@therasslintheatre2960]

You did X, Wing and 00, I think we all know what must be done next GUNDAM FIGHT! READY? GO!

[@mashu_sukotto]

Dr. Dre: Dr. Wiley did you get all the pilot there orders. Dr. Wiley: all of them I gave duo his orders, why would I give orders to your pilots

[@anthonycoffey9412]

Ever watched Escaflowne? Imagine a medieval gundam, weird series but has its moments!

[@TheUndersigned]

Wing's main issues are that it doesn't really explain itself very well and that it's trying to cram the entire arc of UC from OYW to CCA into a single series. Zechs is very much Char with the Fast Forward button taped down. Check out Glory of the Losers for what happens when Wing gets a chance to actually fucking breathe

[@RaMraM-zm1el]

Heero: I'll kill you Also Heero: Self destruct go bbrrrr*

[@campkira]

one of the strong in gundam universe.. will survive any bomb... second from kira with nuke engine...

[@radfordra]

Also heero: Fuck off I win

[@MrJquintel]

Also Heero: It hurts like hell...

[@Tragicide]

When I was a kid, him doing that, made me think that all the older "cool" adult kids were like that. (it was a different time back then.)

[@Kimvanloocke]

Also Heero: The only way to live a good life is to act on your emotions.

[@Nimi450]

Regarding the engineers, the reason they couldn't coordinate nor have the pilots know each other is simple, Communication between the colonies was impossible nuder the Allinace's control, all colonies were cut off from one another. The organization of Operation Meteor is not a coincidence, as shown in Endless Waltz, it was coordinated by the Barton Foundation, but since colonies could not communicate directly with one another, it is more likely that each of the engineer had a Cell to work with and a common deadline was established before setting up those Cells.

[@vali6717]

Wing is the series that needed multiple seasons but instead Iron Blooded Orphans got two while barely having enough narrative for one.

[@hanzosac123]

I completely agree with you saddly we'll never see that happen

[@is-wc9ps]

I was completely shocked when it ended I'm like, wait there's got to be more than just that!!! Def. Needed double the # of eps

[@mak3yasmiil3]

It was a series for people who didn’t need to be spoon-fed every piece info like you said you can gather why the scientists didn’t coordinate attacks but they didn’t explicitly say it. They didn’t need to you gathered it on your own

[@SilvoKnight]

Endless waltz's final narration about eternal peace is something i try to forget. It feels like a half assed staple on.

[@JDMPhill87]

"I am old enough to remember Toonami, but too young to remember Gundam Wing's release in the West.". Dude I feel old when you say that but it makes me remember the magic of seeing Japanese anime on cable television. It was very different back then. You had to go to FYE or Suncoast to buy anime, there was always an asian person or some rich goth kid that had the scoop on anime that was not on cable. Sci Fi channel showed "Showa era" anime on Saturday mornings, and going to the mall was cool because the mall had arcades. The 90s and early 2000s was the golden era of anime in America.

[@El_Lu-Shin]

Wing was my first Gundam series. Last year, for the first time, I started to watch all UC series. And oh man, Wing isn't at the same level at all. But I love it anyway.

[@silentsneasel7965]

I started Gundam Wing 2 years ago along with the original movie trilogy after I picked up the first 3 volumes of Thunderbolt, and I have an odd relationship with it. On one hand, I find it to be kinda hilarious, from "I'll kill you", to Duo (best boi)'s personality, to some dumb decisions characters make, I find it really funny (the dub certainly helped). On the other hand, the ideas presented are incredible and I enjoyed all of the amazing parallels. I might complain about it, but I complain about the things I love, and the sometimes unintentionally funny moments along with the genuinely great ideas make it one of my favorite Gundam series.

[@atomicave3100]

If you think the "i'll kill you" quote is hilarious, you totally missed the point in this video and in the anime. It always made complete sense to me that if Relena were to involve herself with Hero shed die and it would be because of him. Not that hard of a concept to grasp.

[@silentsneasel7965]

@@atomicave3100 Sorry, what I meant by my comment was that those were my initial thoughts. The dub probably didn't help, but I couldn't take the initial episodes seriously until I went back with a more serious mindset.

[@atomicave3100]

@@silentsneasel7965 Okay that definitely makes more sense! haha

[@sim.frischh9781]

The main reason Wing is flawed is because it was essentially an experiment. Until Wing, Gundam was always written around one central hero, be it Amuro Ray, Camille Bidan, Domon Kasshu and even Garrod Ran. All of those characters had friends and even other pilots around them, but they were the undeniable focus. Wing went intentionally for 5 main characters, which kinda overgrew what the writers were capable of handling.

[@sim.frischh9781]

@Tyler Braden They are meant to give the 5 heroes a reason to act. But 5 heroes was a bit too much.

[@manuelsanchez064]

Wow I think your analysis is dead on, in fact I think it's the most accurate considering there's been 20 years of analysis, yours is the best I've ever heard. In fact if they did a remake and took your critiques seriously, a revamped remake of Gundam Wing could probably be the strongest Gundam series ever made.

[@andrewmead9198]

Twenty years later, Wing feels like a chore to get through. There is a lot to like about the series but it feels like it drags on so it could fit 49 episodes. Not to mention, there's a number of episodes dedicated to recaps and people standing around talking. I agree with you that the series needed another pass with the writer to iron everything out. Something I with they could have gotten rid of was the plot armor.

[@matthewpierce3219]

Looking back, what it was for me, it was the first story where I saw a so many different characters with so many different backstories, perspectives, and most importantly different motivations. It really shaped my storytelling and real world acceptance for moral relativity and lack of moral clarity.

[@Aegeta]

As for why the 5 developers did not coordinate and why the pilots didn't know about each other it was BRIEFLY stated that OZ and Earth Alliance prevented communication between the colonies or at least made it MUCH harder for the people. It seems that at least the leadership had some communication between each other. By briefly I mean it was like 1 line total. They had planned the operation for several years and even made unit ZERO's blueprint and the 5 gundams are based off it and the Tallgese, but yes all this needed to be explored far more.

[@seangeary7100]

I think Each pilot is supposed to represent different aspects of war: Heero: Strategy/Tactics Trowa: Deception/Adaptability Wufei: Loyalty/Duty Quatre: Leadership/Diplomacy Duo: Secrecy/Candestine operations I watched this show as a kid and again after my military service and I noticed that I was more engaged the second time. Probably because I was older and understood more about warfare. I think the disjointed nature of the show is supposed to illustrate the perspective of the soldier: you have orders and you follow them. And then reality sets in and things are constantly changing and you may not know the overall situation. In a military, we have a chain of command that communicates those changes but a lot can happen in a very short time. But the pilots from Wing are more like terrorists in that they all have the same mission and each one is like a cell that operates independent of the others to achieve the goal. They don't have a command and control system; they act on their own. And what I love is that in the show, the pilots find themselves in positions where they are on the "wrong" side of things. Brilliant.

[@blindguitarfox]

I think the number of casualties is actually much greater and Treize was referring to ones on his side.

[@kisekinecro]

not by much tho because main battle force for white fang were mobile dolls, which were produced by the battle station they took over from OZ

[@blindguitarfox]

Kiseki Necro I just feel like there were more people in the colonies that got destroyed.

[@Shin_Lona]

First and foremost, I really appreciate this type of content. As profound of a series as Gundam is, I feel like there isn't enough high level discussion like this. You've made some excellent points here and your analysis is very insightful. I'll touch on a few things here myself to further expand the conversation. It's important to realize that if you're watching the dub of any anime, you're going to be missing out on a portion of the characters. The voice acting is a layer of their characterization that can't be overlooked. Even if the translation of the dialogue is accurate, there are inherent differences between the dynamics of Japanese and English that prevent a proper translation. (Not that Wing in Japanese corrects any of the problems with overall plot or character development.) I'd even go as far as to say that a person needs to know some Japanese and at least be somewhat familiar with certain aspects of the language to fully understand and appreciate anime. I know that is quite a commitment, but it is something that develops over time. When I go back and watch older series, now that I have a much better proficiency in the language, the difference is significant. I've found that with Gundam, it's important to view it as a meta-series. There are specific reoccurring themes and tropes that are shared between the individual series. For example, the masked Char-type character. Each installment will incorporate those elements in some way or a other and contribute new ideas to the list as well. You can look at Seed / Destiny as a retelling of Gundam / Zeta, while 00 is essentially the spiritual successor to Wing. The Federation vs Zeon conflict worked extremely well in the various UC series. Anytime a story deviates from that scenario it is venturing into uncharted waters. The concept of a small band of pilots going up against a larger military force is established by Wing, but was greatly refined when it was used in 00. Instead of the Gundams being sent haphazardly sent to Earth to engage in independent guerilla warfare, they had them as part of a highly organized team conducting armed interventions. So the concepts that don't work out so well can be corrected the next time they are used, allowing for a constant evolution of ideas. Even with it's flaws, Wing has contributed immensely to the greater Gundam collective. Like you have mentioned, Wing jumps into the plot without the audience having a clear understanding of the back story. This is a fairly common scenario, but there isn't much character development as they rely almost exclusively on the back story to take care of it - leaving us without a proper understanding of the characters for much of the series. The one point I'll disagree with you on somewhat is in terms of Wufei. In my opinion, I would say that overall his motivation is the most clearly defined. (However, this may be due to having supplemental info from the manga.) The death of Wufei's wife providing an emotional catalyst seems to be the most reasonable motive of the bunch. Even though this may seem somewhat contradictory, as he is shown to be a rather cold character that sees emotion as weakness, Wufei is actually quite hot-blooded. (A character quality he shares with Nataku / Nezha) I would consider him the most passionate of the five pilots - see the dialogue during fight between Wufei and Heero in Endless Waltz for the best example of this. Although fighting for the sake of pure justice may be a bit cliche, it is straightforward and his actions are direct. Even early on, I found his character the easiest to identify with, and his dynamic with Treize is much easier to understand than the relationship between Heero and Relena.

[@willlauzon3744]

Releena: " I declare one nation... A world nation... The world leaders: "I'm okay with this Greta"

[@HonestObserver]

The funny thing is, both the UESA and whatever the heck that OZ/Romefeller was trying to create after overthrowing the Alliance were both pretty much one world nations. It's not like Gundam 00 where we see actual real-world countries are fighting with each other, for all intents and purposes the UESA is already a world government.

[@unofficialyoutubedislikebu6225]

yea did not like the sound of that lmao f the NWO

[@merek5380]

These wasn't a warrior he was a ruler. The warrior archetype was the Zechs identity, seriously the show straight up introduced Zech's. The reason why the duel didn't have build up is because you gave to track the metaphysical battle that underpinns material battles. The metaphysics determines the material outcome, with one big exception related to the dolls as pure unembodied power, but thats a whole other post.

[@qthestruggler2715]

I rewatched it a few years back. Being old enough to remember watching it when it aired on the toonami line up. Wing as aged WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better now that I’m older. The people who don’t like Wing are typically people who are lulcows with the attention span of a squirrel.

[@xer0vi]

I love Wing. And I watch it every few years and still love it. Ive seen the full series probably about 10 times now. And it's amazing that I catch different stuff everytime. I feel like Wing gets hate because it was the one that got super popular in America. And it's cool to hate on the popular thing. Same reason I don't like FFVII that much. I still like it..but don't think its the best. And I feel a lot of people look at Wing like that. Also the show explained very clearly why Heero wanted to die in the beginning. He botched his mission and the Gundam was seen by the enemy before it was meant to be. He felt that he failed and the only way to make up for it was to get rid of the evidence(Blow up Wing Gundam) and then take his own life. He felt like a failure from the beginning. Remember. Heero was essentially a child soldier who was raised for operation meteor. When he failed at the start of it Im pretty sure he was told to destroy the suit and end his life if he was seen before he was meant to be. The other 4 landed without incident but he didn't. Throughout the show though he ends up finally accepting his failure and realizes that the mission can continue. Until Lady Unn decides to aim weapons at the colonies and then he does the unthinkable. Through out the show he struggles cause he really hates his failures. When you think about it the Wing Boyz lost a lot of battles. So in that final moment when he destroys the part of Libra thats about to hit Earth..he overcomes. He accepts his failures and realizes that he can win despite everything. When he says "I WILL SURVIVE!" Its him finally realizing that his life does have purpose outside of battle and that failing is just a part of life and its how you overcome those failures that determine you as a person. So the finale hit hard with me cause I got it. As a kid and a young adult and even about a year ago and I made my wife watch it. Which then leads me to Zechs. My wife had an awesome idea... Remember the battle of Antarctica? When Heero fought in the Heavyarms against Zechs in the Tallgeese? Yeah that fight. Anyways my wife thought it would have been awesome if during that fight when Relena and Noin had interrupted if either Heero or Zechs accidently hit the plane and killed them. That incident would have pushed Zechs to madness regardless which one did it. It would have also built up more tension between their final fight at the end. And if Heero did it..well he finally would have killed Relena lol. I felt like that idea would have worked well. And even be a throwback to the orginal gundam when Lala died. This was long but Im almost done. While I disagree with some of your points I do agree with others. I will say this is a pretty good objective analysis of wing. Also you hate the suit designs? I still think Wing has the best designs out of any series still. But ah well different strokes for different folks. Anyways great vid!

[@fakih121]

God damn. I remember watching this on VHS back in the day. It will always have a softspot in my heart.

[@DigitalFulcrum]

I was thinking about this and it feels like Wing is made by two writers. I think it has a overall pretty good military drama, and the other writer is making a action sentai team. Overall I like Wing and even still say it's pretty good, above average.

[@fremzter]

This is probably still the best gundam series out there. Watching this as a kid fascinated me so much lol. This series really what made gundam known in the world.

[@Hobo_X]

I think the main takeaway from this is, a remake of Wing that addresses these issues could truly be amazing - like game of thrones season 1-3 good. Some of the setup of the storylines in this show had a fucking awesome premise that wasn't properly executed.

[@BlackEpyon]

I agree.

[@leviacosta1134]

I love your reviews of the gundam shows. No one else I know of does a proper examination of both the ideas and the craftsmanship of the story like you do. Most just talk about a cool or bad characters. Fight scenes, and then completely side step examining the philosophy of it. Keep it up.

[@brandonmuse5532]

Great Video. I respectfully agree and disagree with a lot of things but one thing I am disappointed a about is that you didn't say anything about the "ZERO" system. Wing Zero Or Epyon.

[@CultureFiendMedia89]

I remember being in the 2nd or 3rd grade when Wing first aired on Toonami, and as a child, I thought this was the smartest show on Cartoon Network 😂 As an adult, I can acknowledge the shows' shortcomings, but Wing will always standout for me as a nostalgic classic

[@mrmacguff1n]

Deathscythe will always be my favorite Gundam. You never forget your first

[@BecketTheHymnist]

@2:25 The reason the engineer's didn't work together or really collaborate is because travel/communication was HEAVILY restricted between the colonies under the Alliance.

[@BlackEpyon]

Also, compartmentalization. There was always a very real possibility that one or more Gundam pilots would be captured, and you can't be made to tell what you don't know.

[@BecketTheHymnist]

@@BlackEpyon Good call. That is actually how REAL terrorist cells typically work.

[@BlackEpyon]

​@@BecketTheHymnist And spec ops, intelligence agencies in general, etc. The last thing anybody wants is for one of their field agents to be captured and rat out the entire organization. "Need to know" is the catchphrase of the day.

[@BecketTheHymnist]

@@BlackEpyon Yup, makes perfect sense.

[@CynthiaJFinnegan]

The name is pronounced "Cat-tra," like in She-Ra. Quatre is French for four. By the way, you mention several times that there feels like there's something missing, and you're right. The series was supposed to be 56 to 58 episodes in length, but several of them, including the characters' back stories and the original series finale, were cut from the episode line-up. The back stories were produced as a manga titled Episode Zero, and the finale was mixed with clips of the series and shown on Japanese TV as Operation Meteor: Odds & Evens, Part Two. You can find them on Amazon and Ebay.

[@therussianwanderer4851]

The Gundam Pilot backstories were supposed to be in ep 27-28, but due to the troubled production behind the scenes, it was scrapped for the clip shows.

[@LordCornshoe]

The conclusion to Zechs' character arc is so much better in the manga adaptation. There, he turns out to secretly be collaborating with Trieze to pit White Fang against the Earth, and once all the mobile dolls are on the field, he switches sides and begins destroying them. In the anime, he just seems to want to destroy the Earth for... reasons? I've always appreciated Treize as a character, as he was the only one who really took responsibility for his actions in the end. All the Wing boys are mass-murderers, but the prospect of them paying for their crimes never really comes up. Treize seems to take on all the sins of the war on himself and lets himself be killed by Wufei.

[@naimeshirou9734]

So the manga also cannon?

[@Xeno-The-Wanderer]

is this Glory of Losers?

[@Nimi450]

The reason is the one invoked by Milliardo as he fights. A war to end all wars, a destruction so cataclysmic, so horrible, a body count higher than a mountain, overal a Trauma so deep and so easy to see everyday for centuries that it would forever scar humanity. The idea being to scare humanity out of war and weapons through an act so horrendous that everyone would just drop it and stop on both ends of the conflict, rage, pain, hatred, and vengeance wouldn't mean anything in face of this horror.

[@kisekinecro]

the reason he wants to destroy earth is very similar to the reason Char wants to destroy earth, he was so disappointed at human races he just wants to end them, after he witness the two destruction of it's own empire, the one time destroyed by the earth federal when he was a kid, and the other one built by his sister which he fail to save from OZ's hand.

[@Tenkuuken]

@@Nimi450 except of course war in Wing shows a romanticized version with Oz and Treize treating it like a civilized chessboard. If Millardo wanted to scare humanity out of war, he should have gone Zabi or Gundam X

[@KevenThePuma]

It was my first anime so it holds a special place in my heart. Every few years I’ll come back to it. The story is far from perfect but I loved the way the show handled its cast of characters and I especially love the 90’s vibes and aesthetic the show brings.

[@TristanTomaselliWriter]

Great analysis! They tell you about this great story, without showing. I can't help but love Wing because there's so much that draws my curiosity, but there's always been this problem I've never been able to put my finger on. I think your graph showing the dashd line of a srory arc hits the nail on the head.

[@RantzCore]

I almost feel like this series could use a refresh and re-release with an adjusted storytelling that carries better building action to the climax and less retelling of what has already happened. New scenes would be nice to explain away plot holes and character usage closer to other series in Gundam like 00. Updated graphics and animation with more intense moments would pull the viewer harder into the story. I have the entire series and loved it as a teen but the story drags on with too many history lessons and replays that it kills the forward movement of the story. Please someone redo this series and make it the way we envisioned it to be enjoyed. Who cares if the story is shorter time wise as long as the story is smoother flowing and deeper involved to bring out better anticipation in the end. Thanks for reading my Rant. Best wishes!

[@sagara117]

YES! A fellow Noin appreciator! Noin for best Gundam Gal! And yeah, the grunt suits are seriously underappreciated. But man... "it felt like the outline of a story rather than a full draft"... that's actually a pretty darn spot on comparison... as much as I love it to death, it always felt like something wasn't quite right, and that actually sums it up in a way I never could put into words quite nicely.

[@kisekinecro]

The thing with all Gundam Series is that....the anime alone pretty much never tell you everything, they usually give you a "good enough" detail for the store, but they left out plenty for novals, comics, radio shows, spin off, and OVA to fill the gaps and plot holes, which, is how they roll out more MS for action figures 99% of the time.

[@BLT_Plays]

I kind of wish this show got a remake, and fixed some of the payoff/pacing issues. I feel like the original show needed like another 25 episodes worth of detail to make some of the ideas make more sense.

[@kentstark3104]

Wing may be convoluted but this will be my Favorite gundam Series... Maybe its Nostalgia... But, i guess theres something in this series that resonates with me... idk...

[@BottleDeopt]

As a real robot-based Gundam show, there are a lot of elements of this show that are...kind of flawed. However, as a super robot show compared to shows like transformers, zoids, brave series, etc? An 8 year old who managed to watch this show on tv would find pretty much most of the elements of this show extremely unique. It's a bit of a mess and the main characters aren't fully fleshed out at times but they were also be extremely unpredicable at other times. The antagonists of the show being humans with goals and views of their own instead of extraterrestrials from other space adds some more depth into this show. Thus protagonists don't always have to act lawful good every time and antagonists don't always have to act stereotypical and can have goals and motivations of their own.

[@bthsr7113]

As someone who's only familiar with the franchise through clips and videos like this one, at least the series gave us the Heavyarms.

[@Krafterr4]

This definitely helped illuminate my vehemence for Wing. I appreciate your review, thank you.

[@Youtubian392]

We need a full remake of Wing.

[@davidma6616]

I was looking for a nice long video dissecting Wing, and found one at first that mispronounced like all the character names. Couldn’t get past the first 5 minutes for that reason alone. This on the other hand is an actual good video on wing lol.

[@johnboy4025]

I am old enough and I remember I got into it because I had friends who told me to watch it and thankfully they caught me up and explained everything. Knowing everything and being caught up, as well as action in every episode I loved this show (STILL FRIGGIN DO!). I knew kids who weren’t into anime but liked this show, and even kids who didn’t like either still knew about it. The popularity was short lived because it only ran for a year on Toonami and with only 49 episodes, a movie, and no new episodes in sight, it was short lived. When “new” Gundam Series’ started coming out they were either older and couldn’t live up to a more modern series (Wing was less than 10 years old by the time it went off air in America). When Gundam SEED came on air, Toonami was limited to Saturday’s rather than Mon-Fri. SEED takes more time for the story to develop, not a lot of action until episode 5, and in America’s case editing that was beyond extensive! This turned kids off and Gundam in America stuck with the die hards rather than the mainstream like Wing did.

[@whitephoenix4230]

Boo, if you want what Gundam Wing should have definitively been, read Glory of the Losers. It pretty much fixes most of the problems that the anime had all while connecting to Endless Waltz and some other stories such as Episode Zero and Battlefield of Pacifists a lot better. Though the anime is still a guilty pleasure for me, Glory of the Losers is the true story.

[@angelserenade]

I am reading Glory of Losers lately.. And oh boy I got some confused AF momente because the scenes tend to jump everywhere. But then, it is a retelling of the original series. I have to revisit some parts that are seen in the anime but not in the chapters

[@Epsellis]

I really resonate with this take. You had me already nodding halfway through, Then you dropped the Noin bomb. DUDE, YES! FINALLY SOMEONE AGREES! I also echo your preferences with the MS, I really love the Leo. They're the first time I fell in love with Katoki's ability to resolve forms and his edge treatments/accents. Though his choice to remove the knife from heavyarms custom "Because it was too heavy" still gets me every time.

[@kirkk84]

As Attack on Titan wraps up I couldn't help but think about the crystal clear reasons for Eren's storyline and how the writer spent so long setting it up vs your description of Heero's lack of back story.

[@brianjohnson5272]

The reason the 5 doctors didn't communicate was because all transmissions were monitored by the earth sphere. These guy faked their deaths to begin after the tallguese was built.

[@failed_K]

Comments: Review IBO Boo: nah, Imma do Wing

[@AFZ6767]

Quatre = "KAT-TRUH" took me forever to get that down too lol

[@Studio_OZKai]

As laughable as it is at times, the dub helps with the names, at least.

[@BlackEpyon]

Lady Un = 1 (French "un", Latin "unus") Duo = 2 (French "deux", Latin "duo") Trowa = 3 (French "trois") Treze = 3 (Spanish, Latin "tres") Quatre = 4 (French "quatre", Spanish "cuatro") Sanc Kingdom = 5 (French "cinq") Zechs = 6 (German "sechs", Latin "sex") General Septem = 7 (Latin "septem") Inspector Acht = 8 (German "acht") Otto = 8 (Italian "otto") Marshal Noventa = 9 (Latin "nove") Lucrezia Noin = 9 (German "neun") I may have missed a few.

[@kourii]

@@BlackEpyon mostly right, but: Treize = 13 (French 'treize') Noventa = 90 (Spanish 'noventa') also: Heero = 1 (Japanese 'hi'/'hitotsu'; there might be more to the -iro part as well) Yui ~ 1 (Japanese 'yui' = only/'yuitsu' = unique) Wufei = 5 (Mandarin 'wŭ') Dekim (from EW) = 10 (Latin 'decem'; also Latin '-decim' = -teen) Quinze = 15 (French 'quinze') Sedici = 16 (Italian 'sedici') Trant = 30 (French 'trente') Milliardo Peacecraft = billion (Italian 'miliardo'; also French 'millard', Spanish 'millardo') There was also an OZ or Alliance military guy Venti or Veinte or something like that, which would be 20 (from either Italian or Spanish, respectively, depending on which it actually was; I don't remember) Doctor J's name is 'Jack Null' = 0 (English 'null') I feel like Sally Po has to be something as well, but all I can come up with is Serbian 'po' = 'half', but that feels like a stretch.

[@BlackEpyon]

@@kourii Doctor J has a name? Would that have been in the episode zero manga? I didn't read it.

[@kourii]

@@BlackEpyon Bruh I gotta admit I don't remember anymore where that's coming from. Probably episode zero. I tried to keep it to Wing only, but there were a couple that snuck through. Don't hold that against me.

[@paulferguson3419]

hopefully we get a cartoon network plus to relive all these toonami classics!!!!!!

[@Spacefrisian]

Wufei gets more confusing in Endles Waltz imo. Dunno if he is in Frozen Teardrop. Frozen Teardrop is a novel that that takes place some decenia after Endles Waltz

[@DJamesofSalt]

Too much information is left out of the anime. An example, Heero's dad killed the actual Heero Yuy (politician). Heero Yuy the politician is Treize khushrenada's great uncle.

[@madmachanicest9955]

the main reason Wings story is so badly paced is a little know fact now in 2020. Anime Studio Sunrise was forced to extend the series way more than originally intended because Bandai insisted there should always be a Gundam show on the air. So the writers were forced to pad out the show by 20 eps as was

[@justinland5713]

The use of stock footage is an artifact of the era in serialized animation and it really doesn't bother me in the least. Studios only had so much budget to work on these shows and each frame of stock footage means more resources get to go into the important shots.

[@santiagogarcia1606]

Hello boofire, if you’re reading this, thanks, yeah I do agree that the wing pilots weren’t explained much in wing in the terms of backstory, but One thing that I realized was that from the looks of it, it wasn’t by choice. The biggest example showing that is with the episode 0 manga and surprisingly the show itself, one thing that I often noticed in the show was the abundance of reused animation, it’s something that I noticed but let slide, but as you brought up, and then eventually realizing after reading something, I’ve come to realize why we didn’t knew a lot about the gundam pilots with quarte being an exception a bit as we had the largest quantity of information on his background out of the 5. The reason why was because of time constraints believe it or not, they were planning to develop their pasts but due to time constraints, they needed to scrap it out of the show, and eventually it was most likely adapted and potentially modified to the manga. The backstory of some of the pilots are absurdly good in my opinion, Duo and Wufei being the best ones with the backstories, either being in the episode 0 manga for duo (idk for the rest of the pilots since I only read on duo’s backstory), and GOL for Wifei for the moment, I’m saying for the moment because while I did read GOL, I only read volumes 1 and 2, the rest not a lot really, but with the second volume, it really did wufei absurdly well and I love it. I could be wrong but the reason why it had time constraints was because it was around the time gundam X was being developed so they were probably working on two different shows, I could be wrong about that though I don’t think it’s concrete

[@QuintusAntonious]

I was "that guy" in my pre-teen friend's group who didn't like Gundam Wing. I had seen the original MS Gundam and several of the other higher Japanese series and found them so much more compelling. That said, I'm indebted to WIng because it did get me into Gundam. It was on a Wing VHS where I first saw the ads for War In the Pocket and other (arguably superior) Gundam series that my friends never cared to watch. As I've gotten older and deeper into Gunpla though, I've come to enjoy the somewhat fantastical designs of the Wing mobile suits.

[@Itsuhtrap42]

The last 5 minutes of this video is the crux of my argument as to why this show is great. It is an exploration of the key points in Peace and Conflict theory. What role does pacifism/fascism/globalism/passive-resistance have in war?

[@Itsuhtrap42]

.... and then you said you disliked the gundam's design. That I cannot agree with. Compared to things like a Jester Gundam? No contest.

[@TheTrueAdept]

One of the things, when you go 'round the block' as it were, is that you discover that your favorite show that introduced you to a franchise got screwed over because of higher-ups screwing up. Due to Gundam X wrapping up, this show got forced to go far longer than it should have... and from what I've heard and read from other... less toxic... fans of the fandom, this is a consensus from level-minded fans. Gundam Wing is an enjoyable ride, that's for sure. It isn't the above-average that was SEED, the absolute trainwreck behind the scenes that was SEED DESTINY (the stuff I've heard about DESTINY was... bad...), it didn't try to pull an Asimov Foundation and came out with mixed results (Gundam 00), have one show not only buck the trend but compress THREE seasons into one season (AGE), one show that went Metabots on us (Build Fighters), and one that bucked the trend and had a gut-wrenching ending (Iron-Blooded Orphans).

[@jaypeterman9721]

“...less toxic...” get over yourself. There’s a wide range of anticipations. You can’t dictate how they should behave.

[@koichijenius]

Gundam X came after this one, I fail to see how could have much effect on Wing.

[@TheTrueAdept]

@@koichijenius from what I heard, Wing was concurrent with X at the time, due to an old policy for Gundam that Bandai had for a while. Don't know the exact details BUT when X got its episodes cut and ended early, Wing was forced to go on for longer than originally planned.

[@TheTrueAdept]

@@jaypeterman9721 I've been around the fandoms for a long while and I know toxicity when I see it. While [part of fandom here] Uber Alles isn't entirely a BAD thing, it does when you do it to the point where you would rather burn things to the ground than admit you're wrong, to give an example.

[@rxzero00]

Gundam X literally was aired a week after Gundam Wing's last episode.

[@LeFredge]

about the fact that the gundam pilots did know about each other : It is said that no communication between colonies were allowed in the earth alliance era, after heero yuy's murder. Of course we could say that the scientists could have find some way to communicate during that time, but as they went underground, we could also say that they remained silent in order not to compromise their solo operations.

[@BlackEpyon]

There was also the possibility that one or more pilot would be captured. What you don't know, you can't be made to tell.

[@hitandruncommentor]

Wing’s biggest problem is that it’s so chalk full of big ideas it didn’t have time to tell a story. If this had been a series of series I think that might have worked better. Edit: also I want to point out that those big ideas is why wing is my favorite Gundam series. Because unlike so many of the Gundam series it is relevant and is close to an allegory without being pompous.

[@venomouslizards]

I’ve always described Gundam Wing as “Gundam 00” but not good.

[@Sonicfalcon16]

Yeah depending on which one you see first affects your enjoyment of the other

[@rxzero00]

@@Sonicfalcon16 I saw Wing first but I think Gundam 00 is better.

[@venomouslizards]

Sonicfalcon16 I mean, I watched Wing first and thought it was garbage. So if I’d saw it after 00, I probably would have thought it was even worse.

[@AlphaRaptor2k6]

@@rxzero00 OO took what Wing tried todo and did it and changed it up as well. Gundam series at this point were only at the second alt universe/timeline after G(which was wacky and could be said to have aged poorly to say the least) so it was "see what sticks" when thrown against the storyboard, then the Sunrise/Bandai board(s) gets their say(hint: More Units for Model kits/toys is usually the big gripe/answer and to hell with everything else). In which case things get cut/trunkated/eleminated/replaced and then the director(s)/writers(s) are left to create a coheasive show with whats left. Weak directors and or Writers leave the show at the mercy of the Suits upstairs and their muddeled at times decisions. Gundam was weird at this time with only 08th MS Team being the only UC timeline anything being made. it wasn't till around 2000 that the newfound US market was pumping more cash into Bandai that they would normalize a bit(Then the Father of Gundam, Tomino would get another shot a gundam series and we(Japan) got Turn A and the weirdness it had).

[@demonsinmysemon]

I try to rewatch every few years. I saw it when it first aired. As I've gotten older, wiser, more experienced, I find so many flaws but not mater what, it began my journey into the love for Gundam, and even more so into anime. I would love to see a remake, just not done by Netflix. Maybe even bring in a few military experts. Fix up the god-awful dialogue

[@RagingWaldo]

The real tragedy of Wing is that it had a problematic production history. The two halves of the series had two different directors. The producers changed directors due to disagreements with the first (don't remember what they were). This caused delays and the pilots backstories, that were eventually told in Endless Waltz and the Chapter Zero manga, were phased out of the anime because of time constraints. Remember those two recap episodes in the middle of the show... Yep, that's where they were supposed to go.