Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Review by vmoore86

	Audience:	PG
	Genre:	Sci-Fi/Drama/Action
	Available:	Cartoon Network
	Contains:	intense mecha violence, mild language and brief blood(uncut version)
	Rating:	B

It is the year A.C.(After Colony) 195, in the past few years, Civil War has brought strive to the Earth, and humanity escapes into space and settle at colonies built at five Lagrange points surrounding the Planet Earth. When the wars ended on Earth, the government called the "United Earth Sphere Alliance" was established to bring order to the Earth and the colonies, but this brought an uneasy peace, and the Alliance's tyrannical stranglehold on the Colonies through force was strengthening every minute. Also, a secret organization known only as "Oz" has infiltrated the Alliance, whose goals are

only to provoke war between the Earth and the Colonies, and were already responsible for the assassination of Heero Yuy, a famous representative of the Colonies who promoted peace, and the destruction of the pacifist nation of the "Sank Kingdom." Tired of being driven under the tyranical rule of Oz and  the Allliance, rebel factions led by five scientists within the Colonies revolt by sending five powerful mobile suits known only as "Gundams" to Earth, piloted by five mysterious young teenagers to lead a secret guerilla campaign against Oz and the Alliance. Hailing from five different Colonies, the pilots are unaware of each other, and their paths eventually cross, but will they ever succeed with the entire world(and not to mention the colonies.) going against them?

Right now I must be honest, I am very inexperinced and unfamiliar with the entire Gundam series(all 10 series, and I almost forgot Turn-A Gundam) and the only ones I have seen were F91, Stardust Memory, and this series which I

am reviewing. Released on Japanese television in 1995, Gundam Wing was an alternate universe story in the Gundam saga(which may dissapoint hardcore Gundam fans), but it managed to become one of the most successful series to

date, nearly topping "Neon Genesis Evangelion." Bandai has decided to bring this kick-ass series to the U.S. through Cartoon Network in order to introduce "Mobile Suit Gundam" to the American majority, and I can only say one thing...

I am absolutely hooked on this series.

Where should I start? What was it about this series that impressed me so much? For one thing, "Gundam Wing" contains somes of the best, detailed(and not to mention meanest) bad-ass mecha designs of all the Gundam series. To the awe-inspring Wing Gundam in the opening scenes, to the terrorfying power of the Epyon and the Deathschythes, Gundam Wing never fails to capture the feel of the insane power whenever they are on-screen. Also, another strong point inherent to the Gundam series is the story, and this series never fails to dissapoint. The overall theme of the show poses the question of true peace and the consequences of war.(Which is not very new, have you seen any Gundam series without war?) But the dark, mysterious story for Gundam Wing grabbed me, and I was intriged even at all the slow points during the show. Which leaves me at the characters, which both seem to help and harm the series at the same time...

During the first few episodes, you'll hardly meet any likable characters (except Quatre or maybe Zechs) The main character, Heero Yuy (named after the assasinated representative) is a very dark character and seems like an overall super-powerful psychopath. Also, not to mention the chuvanistic Chang Wufei (whom I absolutely despised at first) which is one factor that made Gundam Wing all the more interesting to watch, the character development is very strong, nobody is ever classifed as good or evil unlike other shows(heck even the most evil looking character may do a complete 180, Lady Une for example...) Each character is very unpredictable, and what you may think you know about them can be way, way off. This made the series all the more addictive. The only character I found even remotely annoying was Relena

Peacecraft, who becomes obsessed with Heero Yuy, even after he tries to kill her. :\ (I dunno, maybe she like dangerous men.)

The animation is excellent, although it nowhere near approaches the the quality of say, Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion, it still improves over other TV anime seen in the U.S. The Gundams are still very detailed and the opening animation is pulse-poundingly intense. Which leaves me at the music, which I was especially impressed with. Bandai kept everything faithful to the japanese version in the U.S. translation, and I could'nt be happier that they kept Yasuo Uragami's score intact. The music perfectly matches the theme with many excellent classical and electronic music. Both the vocal and

instrumental versions of the kick-ass opening theme, "Just Communication" play in my head over and over.(Which go down in history as one of my favorite anime opening songs.) It's that good.

Bandai will never regret bringing this awesome series to the U.S. even after this series is over(maybe we'll see "Endless Waltz.") we'll see more universes of Gundam to come, in the meantime enjoy every minute of this wonderful series, I know I will.

P.S. Isn't everyone getting tired of Dragon Ball Z by now?

Gundam wing © Bandai. 2000 review by vmoore86@aol.com Image not created by me.