Gundam Wing thread incoming
So I'm making a thread for Gundam Wing cus it's a lot longer than the OVAs I've been watching and I have more to say about it than I did MSG '79. Like many American anime fans, Gundam Wing was my introduction to the franchise when I was younger. I remember the intro, the Gundam Five, and Zechs among a few other things. Part of getting into the franchise for me was looking forward to being able to rewatch Gundam Wing with a deeper understanding of its context. And while I definitely wasn't expecting to find it to be one of the cheesier Gundam series, I'm still enjoying it.
Part of that cheese may be because I'm watching the dub (sue me), but that's how I've been watching the other Gundams, and so far I haven't regretted it. It's also how I originally watched the series. Anyways, this thread is going to be discussing the series in seven-episode chunks. It's a 49 episode series, so it was an even division. And after watching the first seven episodes, it may be that they were written in arcs, because there's a clear turning point after ep 7. Treize even says something like "Now the second act begins." Mainly, I'll use this post to discuss the introduced characters, because that's what it seems like the focus has been so far.
Context
The one thing I really like about Wing's story is that the Earth Alliance are the villains, kind of. Really OZ, a secret organization within the Alliance are the villains. But the history of the Alliance subjugating the colonies is definitely presented as an evil act, and the reaction from the rebels to deploy the five Gundam pilots was a reaction to their tyranny. This makes a lot more sense to me than the dynamic between the Federation and the Zeon in the UC timeline, which may have been a product of its time. While the conflict in the UC timeline may be a bit more complex because of the way that the underdog is mostly villanized, it's still kind of strange that a small sect of separatists like the Zeon could pose such a threat against the massive organization of the Federation for so long. But in the After Colony timeline, the much better supplied and more powerful Earth Alliance is essentially taken over by OZ, giving our protagonists a much larger obstacle than those in the UC timeline.
The first seven episodes see the five Gundam pilots deployed to different points across Earth, and show their progress towards their main goal of eliminating OZ. The pilots fall to Earth and Heero loses his Gundam for a bit while being pursued by Zechs. He gets it back, thanks to Duo (even though he keeps trying to destroy his Gundam as evidence). Heero takes up a spot at Relena's school as cover, and uses the opportunity to cover his tracks with some high powered bit of software. He gets captured, his vitals somehow read like a photo software tutorial, and Duo rescues him. Quartre meets Trowa pretty early, and they form an alliance without much trouble. Though Trowa leaves Quartre in a slightly less rude manner than Heero leaves Duo. Wufei is on his own for the most part, and just goes about wrecking things. Meanwhile, OZ hunts the Gundam around the world, and eventually succeeds in overthrowing the peace-loving Alliance military so that they can like, make more war or something. This happens by Treize sending out misinformation, and luring the Gundam pilots into killing the head of the Alliance military during attempts to plan peace talks. Heero personally blows up the Alliance military transport, and Treize, the actual leader of OZ, escapes.
Protagonists
Heero Yuy: This dude is a real asshole. One of the first things he says to Relena is that he's gonna kill her (cus she knows too much about him). Even though he's the first protagonist we are introduced to, we know the least about him. He's supernaturally talented, demonstrating the strength and endurance of a superpowered shonen protagonist. We start to get a crack in his armor when he finds himself protecting Relena from OZ without really knowing why. I look forward to him becoming less of a dick.
Duo Maxwell: This dude just wants to enjoy life. He first meets Heero at gunpoint, trying to rescue Relena from getting shot by Heero. It doesn't take him that long to catch on that him and Heero are part of the same mission. Thankfully he isn't as thick headed as that dolt. Sidenote here: maybe not telling your Gundam pilot assassins about each other wasn't the greatest idea? Anyways, one great scene with Duo is when he's staring up at the moon, commenting on how beautiful it looks from Earth. He clearly enjoys the simple joys of life and nature, something he knows Heero does not.
Quartre Raberba Winner: What a name. Of the bunch, this dude is the most emotionally aware. He even gets out of his Gundam mid-fight to stop a conflict with Trowa (I think it's Trowa). Being the kindest of the bunch, he's the most interested in meeting the other pilots and forming an alliance. There's one scene of him playing the violin along with a recording, and Trowa joins in. Why Quartre has a collection of classical instruments at his temporary camp is anyone's guess. But this is definitely where we get the strongest angle for a queer interpretation. At one point, Trowa leaves Quartre's camp, and Quartre comments that he would prefer if Trowa fought him, because then at least he would get to see him again. I think there are developing arguments for all the pilots (and other characters) being queer, but that's another matter.
Trowa Barton: Definitely the most silent and reserved of the bunch, even next to Heero. Its shown that he has an affinity with animals (along with Treize) and he is able to calm a lion simply by looking in its eyes. He gets a job at a circus, and in one scene when the knife thrower is aiming at him, she realizes that Trowa is not afraid of death because he wants to die. We never hear this from Trowa, but it fits with his mood.
Chang Wufei: Possibly more of an asshole than Heero. There are a couple of telling scenes with him. In one, he is fighting an Alliance mobile suit and realizes that the pilot is a woman, Noin. He immediately dismisses her abilities and even leaves her alive because he says he doesn't kill women (and cowards? Or something like that). Another scene follows shortly after, he somehow finds himself surrounded by hyenas, and he essentially yells and bullies them into leaving him alone. He says he's upset by not being able to fight because the pilot was a woman, or something like that. Definitely a misogynist, still very queer. Oh also, he's somehow the only one that realizes that the pilots were duped by Treize and lured into killing the Alliance leaders when they thought they had killed OZ.
Relena Darlian / Peacecraft: Relena is kind of silly in the start, upset with her ever-busy father and suddenly captivated by the asshole that fell to earth, Heero. She makes a lot of weird choices, like shouting Heero's name into the sky and following him even though he tries to kill her. Ultimately, she is driven to uncover the many secrets around her, and while she serves in a more civilian capacity than other Gundam girls, she has just as much courage and stubbornness as her forebears. The first proper Gundam trope character in the series, Relena serves as the female foil (/ love interest?) to one of the male protagonists, Heero. She follows the legacy of characters like Sayla (79), Sayla (08th), Charlie (WitP), and Nina (SM) in this. And, like Sayla, she turns out to be the long lost sister of the main masked antagonist, Zechs Merquise. We learn this when her father, who belongs to the secret rebel organization that deployed the Gundam Five, is assassinated. Like Artesia / Sayla before her, Relena was adopted by allies of her father after he was killed. However, unlike Sayla, Relena never knew this. She is now trying to come to terms with her status as an adopted daughter, and likely has questions about her birth family.
Antagonists
Zechs Merquise / Peacecraft: Welcome Char Aznable v 2.0. Before I got into the franchise, I thought that Zechs and Char were the same character, and... they kind of are. They both wear very flamboyant red military uniforms, and both wear some fabulous masks. I love the visual update, and I don't know the differences to their backstories yet, but he is definitely a very strong homage to the original. He wears a mask like Char, which I kind of hope we don't get an explanation for. While he seems to have a romantic connection to Noin, he also has a pretty homoerotic relationship with Treize, and he is queer-coded in ways similar to Char. I'm not really sure of his motivations yet, but he definitely had the impetus to stage a coupe / betray his government like Char did. And given that he is a descendent of the mysterious pacifist Peacecraft family, I'm guessing he has a bone to pick with the Earth Alliance, OZ, the colonists, or all three. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to have some traitorous plans like Char and Cima.
Lucrezia Noin: This is an interesting character to throw in with the villains, and her pacifist inclinations help to keep up Gundam's thematic commitment of moral ambiguity. Ironically enough, she is more of a pacifist than the Peacecrafts or Quartre, and is initially incapable of fighting because of this. Though in ep 7 we do see her destroy an Alliance pilot in the coupe. She also definitely has some erotic tension with Zechs, and it's implied they have a history. It will be interesting to see how she develops.
Treize Khushrenada: The leader of the OZ organization within the Alliance military, Treize commands both Zechs and Lady Une. He demonstrates a Disney princess-like ability to commune with birds, and while he commands much pain and suffering, I'm not sure we've ever seen him fight. His penchant from talking to birds and taking baths makes him pretty clearly queer-coded, like the villainous commanders (Garma, M'quve) that have preceded him in the UC shows. He definitely has a lot of power and a clear vision for the future, but its unclear at this point whether him or Zechs is the big bad of the show.
Lady Une: An operative of Treize, she personally assassinates Relena's father. She also tosses General Septem out of a plane. This is the only reason she is not a dishonorable mention, good riddance.
Dishonorable Mentions
General Septem: This guy has the most grating dub voice that I've ever heard in an anime. Thank god he's dead.
Doctor J: This is the ancient dude who oversaw the training of the pilot codenamed Heero Yuy. He thinks that violence will bring peace, and that sending assassins after OZ is the only way to create a peaceful world. I kind of get where he's coming from, but his framing clearly shows that in the narrative he's in the wrong. He's in the car telling Relena the truth about the rebels and as he is saying that this violence will bring peace, we see mobile suits getting bombed. Pretty obviously a baddie, and again this gives ambiguity to the rebel organization that the protagonist pilots are a part of. I'm calling him evil Master Roshi.
Honorable Mention:
Professor G: This is the old dude who handles the repairs of the Deathscythe, piloted by Duo. He doesn't say much, but chuckles a good bit. He's silly. I'm calling him high Master Roshi.
