Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

The Gundam franchise is vast, absolutely vast in fact. Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise Studio created this military science fiction media franchise. The franchise began on April 7th, 1979, with Mobile Suit Gundam and featured giant robots or mecha termed “Gundam.” It was such a massive success that it defined the very “real robot” mecha anime genre. There are 50 TV series, films, and OVAs in total, in addition to manga, novels, video games, and plastic model kits “Gunpla.” Bandai Namco Holdings currently owns the full franchise and grosses over $80 billion in sales annually.

“Mobile Suit Gundam Wing,” also known as “New Mobile Report Gundam Wing” or “Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing,” is one of the franchise’s many TV series. This 49 episode series ran from Apr 7th, 1995 until Mar 29th, 1996, as a Spring 1995 anime. Produced by TV Asahi and licensed by Bandai Entertainment, Studio Sunrise took the helm in its production. This original series features genres of Action, Military, Sci-Fi, Space, Drama, and Mecha. The rating is PG-13 for Teens 12 years or older.

The series is adapted from “Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing” manga and the “Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing” Light Novel. The parent story is the “Mobile Suit Gundam” anime and is summarized in the “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor” 4 episode OVA series. A special episode titled “New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop Picture Drama - Aratanaru Tatakai” was also released later in 2014. Two sequels were released for the original anime, “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz” 3 episode OVA series and the “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz” Movie.

The powerful military organization “United Earth Sphere Alliance” had ruled over Earth and its Space Colonies with a dictatorial system for many decades. When the colonies had enough of this iron fist rule, they spurred their opposition to the Alliance, but their leader was assassinated. This made the Colonial rebels even more bitter.

In the following year, Colony 195 took to arms and launched “Operation Meteor,” where five powerful mobile suits were dispatched to Earth searching for vengeance. These Gundams were built out of virtually indestructible material called “Gundanium Alloy,” They began their bitter assault against the Alliance and a sub-organization of it, called “OZ.”

One such Gundam suffered a crash landing into Earth’s ocean, following a harsh defeat in a tough atmospheric battle against OZ’s ace pilot Zechs Marquise. The pilot, who had taken the name of the slain colony leader Heero Yuy, was washed ashore on Earth. He was then found by the daughter of a pacifist politician, Relena Peacecraft.

Having witnessed him descend onto Earth, she attempts to save him, but their relationship had a rough start. Regardless, unknown to the two of them, their chance encounter will have a profound impact on each other's lives, in addition to those on Earth and the Space Colonies alike.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing got pretty popular amongst Western Otaku, similar to Gundam SEED. Anime was just starting to hit it off globally when it aired, and its features that severely contrasted western cartoons made it very popular amongst viewers.

The story of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing revolves around war, akin to many of the Gundam series. Two opposing factions from Earth and Space are locked in an epic battle to grasp victory. There is always the young male protagonist who encounters a Gundam and how it proceeds to change his life.

At first, the incoming barrage of faction names and organization names seems overwhelming, but they are critical to quickly building up the world in the viewers’ minds. Yet, some of them are gone just as fast as they arrived. Each of them acts as a step on the staircase onwards to the finale. A critical concept that the series tends to shove in viewers’ faces is the “If you don't evolve, you won't survive.” Throughout the first half, it’s mainly about significant global events brought about due to all the main characters’ actions.

As the series progresses in the second half, more in-depth insight into the characters themselves, especially the main characters, is given. Their reasons to fight, their objectives, and who they see as friend or foe is elaborated. In classic Gundam style, the finale brings both these halves together in an inevitable badass Gundam showdown.

There is much action in every episode to keep the fans of the Mecha genre entertained, but Gundam Wing is technically not a Shonen. It’s more about war and the soldiers of war. How each soldier fights for their side to protect their loved ones and ideals is emphasized well.

Considering its production, one would typically expect the animation to be pretty bad, especially in comparison to modern-day anime. But the animation and art are not that bad. Sunrise’s mastery of Anime art allows this series to be decent at best, neither bad nor high quality.

The backdrops and environments are typically dark, though, to set the series’s themes in locations like dark rooms or the dark recesses of space, so turning up the brightness is recommended. The decent quality drops at times, but the execution and timing make it bearable. Compared to Gundam SEED, it seems less clean, and the shiny effects of the mobile suits are non-existent. The animation is not likely to make a viewer want to drop the series midway, and it moderately suffices.

As for the music and sounds, the Original Sound Tracks (OSTs) of Gundam Wing consists of some pretty rad battle music that fits the ongoing action. The battle armament and Gundam sound effects are all well aligned and pretty good, notable credits to Heavyarms’s Guns and Wing Zero’s Shoulder Vulcans in that regard.

The few times the sounds let viewers down is the dull music-less-ness of individual scenes, which aren't that high stakes. These scenes feel relatively light and drab. Some sound effects just sound off, played when characters realize certain things. The two Opening themes are "Just Communication'' by TWO-MIX (from episodes 1 to 40) and "Rhythm Emotion" by TWO-MIX (from episodes 41 to 49). The Ending theme throughout is "It's Just Love!" by Lumi Ohishi.

The characters are the highlight of this series, just like most Gundam series. Probably the most significant factor contributing to its success, these characters evolve to survive. When faced with a difficult situation where they must make a decisive choice, they undergo gradual change.

This character development is pivotal in making viewers understand and relate to them more. The trope of pairing each of them with someone of the opposite gender for contrast or similarities is well done. The series boasts a comparatively significant number of main characters and supporting characters, many of whom will linger in viewers’ minds. Also, minor characters tend to die off quite often, which becomes very typical within this anime.

As a final verdict, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is a fine watch, especially for fans of the franchise and mecha goers alike. Whether one likes it or not is mainly up to the viewer himself/herself, and an overall clear judgment does not exist. It gets its fair share of both disdain and praise from fans. The initial episodes are very political, with a lot of manipulation involved as well as bitter backstabbing.

These themes, in particular, are portrayed well. The theme shifting within the series is significant, as it continually changes and approaches more genres. What may start disappointing may eventually lead to quite appealing impressions, so holding on tight to all the sub-parts is vital if one wishes to experience the full anime. Towards the end, most audiences would generally be pleased. It may not be the best of the franchise, but it is indeed noteworthy and worth a watch.