Anime Review: Gundam Wing

This was written for Maglomaniac on May 8, 2014

Well, I’ve reviewed my favorite anime movie of all time (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie).  I’ve reviewed what some call the greatest anime series of all time (Cowboy Bebop).  I even reviewed two other Gundam series that I personally like.  Now, it’s time.  It’s time to review my favorite anime series of all time.  Yes, I like this series more than Bebop since I knew it first and connected with it best.  I like this better than some of the newer stuff that I saw as well as the old stuff.  I even like this better than Dragon Ball Z.  I didn’t think it was possible, but it is.  For all 293 episodes of drawn out battle, comedy and action by way of a martial arts movie, and a plethora of characters to boot, it just don’t like it as much anymore.  But for this series, I still dig it.  I still enjoy looking back at it.  I still quote it at times.  Now, it’s time to review it.  It’s time to review Gundam Wing.

The year is After Colony 195.  Outer space has become the new frontier as the people of Earth began to form colonies in outer space for living purposes.  In the name of peace, a military force was formed that was known as the Earth Sphere Alliance to keep the colonies in order.  However, the alliance ruled with an iron fist, abusing its power and the freedoms of the colonists.  A plan was formed known as “Operation: Meteor” where five different colonies would send five different spaceships to crash to Earth.  From these ships would emerge five mobile suits made of the powerful metal alloy known as Gundanium.  Mobile suits are actual giant robots piloted by soldiers to combat other armed forces like tanks, ships, etc.   Gundanium mobile suits were known as Gundams and were feared to be the most powerful mobile suits due to their sophisticated frames, powerful armor, and advanced capabilities.  These spaceships and Gundams were to be piloted by five teenagers, specifically trained to pilot their specific Gundams to at first, take over the Earth and rule it in favor of the colonies.  However, the plan changed to defeating the Earth Sphere Alliance to free the colonies and Earth from their tyrannical rule.  As the story unfolds over 49 episodes, we see how the world and space changes during the times of war as the battle lines continue to draw and re-draw themselves with varying enemies on the front lines.  The Gundam pilots find themselves as heroes, villains, and even interlopers before the series ends.  

Gundam Wing is one of the few series that showcases what the world goes through in times of war.  One minute you have a clear-cut enemy and a hero.  However, over time, it is possible that the enemy may change by answering to a more powerful enemy that looks to usurp the enemy’s inner power.  Then, all of a sudden, the good guys could be the enemy and the enemy the good guys.  The battles are very intense as you see the skills of the Gundam pilots shine in combat.  They even do battle against each other before finally uniting as a team.  We also see how greed plays a factor as the enemy changes three times from the militaristic power of the Earth Sphere Alliance to the mobile suit manufacturing moguls at the Oz organization to the overpowering conglomerate of the Romefeller Foundation.  Amidst all the changes, politics, greed, and whatnot, the one constant that remains is the battle.  It is in the battle that the pilots not only find their true potential, but they find the truth and their purpose in the ever-changing world.  You can get to see something like this when each of them pilot the Wing Zero.  The Zero system was made to unlock the full potential of a pilot.  Once they fly this Gundam, you get to see a change in their personalities and ultimately, they grow into better pilots and better men.  

49 episodes aren’t enough for this story, though.  There’s actually an episode zero that explains what the Gundam pilots were doing before Operation; Meteor.  You also get a better explanation as to what the operation was supposed to be.  After the series ends, you have the movie, Endless Waltz.  This plays out as an epilogue of sorts explaining what the pilots did after the events of the series and what major battle was waiting for them afterward.  All of these aspects encompass that of Gundam Wing.  Of all the mobile suit series, this is my all-time favorite.  It’s my all-time favorite anime as I have stated.  I wish I could say more, but I don’t want to spoil everything, and there may not be enough words I can give it to do it true justice.  All I can assure you is that you’ll enjoy the ride for the action, the drama, and the different mobile suits that come into play.  Gundam Wing is one of the best anime series, in my opinion.  And if it were my mission to watch it all again, then to quote Heero Yuy, “Mission accepted!”