It's been somewhere in the vicinity of eleven years since Gundam Wing debuted in North America, commanding far greater popularity than in its native Japan, and single-handedly dragging the Gundam franchise into the western consciousness. I'm proud to count myself among the lucky many, who witnessed Gundam Wing's original North American run, one in a scarce handful of cultural moments in my life that resonated with me at the point of origin. Now, for the first time in ten or eleven years, I'm watching the entire series in full, and I'm surprised at just how solid this series is. I expected it to seem cheesy and predictable, but even having already seen the show, I still find myself intrigued by its content and confused as to the true motives hidden beneath the content at face value.
For one thing.... Granted, I was a child at the time. You can't judge me too harshly. But I distinctly remember feeling as though Oz were sort of the good guys all along, and that the Earth Sphere Alliance had been the real threat. It almost makes sense, by virtue of where the series turns after the Alliance is destroyed. First Oz impregnates Outer Space and dismantles the oppressive infrastructure constructed by the Alliance -- something I now realize that The Earth Sphere may have accomplished themselves, had the pacifist leaders not been assassinated, and they may have done it without the war-mongering ulterior motives. Secondly, in the series' final showdown, Treize takes control of the entire Earth and opposes the yet more maniacal Zechs, Treize therefore assuming the solid role of 'good guy' versus a war-hungry evil.
Zechs' motives for waging war on the Earth from Space have never been clear to me, while Treize claims peace is his true motive. Alas, after seeing Treize actions, and perhaps understanding his cryptic pseudo-philosophical politics for the first time, I see that his ultimate motive is to wage war for his own enjoyment. Once upon a time I idolized Treize. Today... I can say that Oz is pure evil. Treize, Zechs, Noin, I want to see them all killed. As it turns out, the Gundams really are the ONLY good guys. You can't even blame all of Oz's cold-hearted evil on Lady Une. It was none other than Treize who ordered Lady Une to attack A DEFENSELESS FUCKING SCHOOL, in order to kill Relena Peacecraft. Actions of that nature are simply inexcusable.
Another switch of perception would be how I see Quatre. He was always lauded as a pussy back in the day. Today I could easily say he's the character I most revere, if indeed I revere any of these characters. They all seem very flawed individuals, except for Quatre, who manages to maintain a flawless record until he breaks down, goes insane, and pilots the Wing Zeroe to slaughter thousands of innocent peace-loving colonial citizens.
But until then, Quatre is easily the most level-headed. His Gundam, the Gundam Sandrock, was always considered the suckiest of the Gundams because its arsenal is limited and lax compared to the others -- however I now see that it makes Quatre the greatest fighter of them all. While the others rely on heavier machinery, Quatre makes do by virtue of his superior skill, a valiant warrior indeed. And finally, his open love for humanity, his lust for life, and his unafraid appreciation of friendship is easy for me to relate to, and it is ceaselessly more mature than the melodrama the other pilots engorge themselves on.
The final big change between my perceptions then and now, would be my ability to fully comprehend the much-publicized homosexual undercurrents in the series. And as a proud shipper today, I do take a close look at the different relationships between the characters. The predominant dichotomy you see is a consequential individual (a Gundam pilot, Treize, or Zechs) caught between a terminally inconsequential subordinate female who spends her life doing naught but chasing in vain after a more powerful and preoccupied male... and then a male equal, someone who commands as much influence and power as they themselves do. Understandably (if not truly righteously), they treat the subordinate as a subordinate, and they treat their peer as a peer, making for a far deeper and more interesting relationship between the homosexual pairings.
As a man who has always favored, for relationships, what Griffith of Berserk said about friendship -- that a true friend is an equal who can challenge you, not a subordinate -- I tend to prefer the homosexual pairings over the hetero ones. Though I wouldn't mind if the women in the series commanded more strength and influence (a bit sexist, perhaps?).
And my one exception is the case of Heero and Relena. Heero seems wholly uninterested in Duo, while allowing Relena to break through his taught defenses. Plus Relena is the most powerful and consequential female in the series, ultimately becoming Queen of the Earth. Although she does spend her days hopelessly pinning and putting 100% of her efforts into fawning over her chosen male, she does a much more interesting job of it than the rest, putting herself into harms way and vowing to become as strong as Heero so that they may have precisely they type of relationship I favor.
It'll be a while before I see the ending again. One could argue Treize had positive motives all along, to embroil the Earth in a war so gruesome it would shock the people into truly believing in peace. But I simply can't believe that, his war mongering ways are immutably evident. But we'll see.
