There is a new power in space. A Gundam, so destructive that it has been
left unfinished for over twenty years, has come to challenge not just OZ but
the colonies themselves. With Wufei and
Duo captured by OZ, an undercover Trowa and Heero seek out this supposed new
ally. But even Heero can sense something
isn’t right about this Gundam. As Heero
and Trowa confront the fact that an ally has become a new enemy, OZ finds
itself torn apart by an internal power struggle. Old foes fall, old friends find new
strength. And the next chapter of the
After Colony era erupts in fire across the stars.
Things hardly ever stay the same for too long in the
world of Gundam Wing. This series has
gone well out of its way to leave things in a different state from one part to
the next. That’s no different here as we
reach the halfway marker of the show.
It’s fascinating that the reaction to the changing
situation in the colonies was experienced best by a character who’s spirit we
never thought would break and a character we never expected to find a heart in
that nice bod of hers. Losing his father
was Quatre’s breaking point. The Pacifist who believed in peace, even at the
cost of his own Gundam and his being exiled by the colonies he once defended,
finally went over the edge and responded in kind…by going totally insane. Watching Quatre in action with the brand
spanking new Wing Zero and seeing such a
kind boy become an emotionless killing machine, who had no qualms blowing up
colonies like OZ Mobile Suits, was chilling to say the least. It only makes sense that in possibly losing
Trowa (who could be a younger version of Quatre’s dad if his hair was shorter
and he was rocking a stache) would bring Quatre around to the horrors he’s
done. Losing one person he loved broke
him. Losing another dear friend, who
pleaded for him to find his soul again, was at least a start to restoring him.
And then there’s Lady Une, who at the end of last week
was having a hard time trying to decide which Lady Une she wanted to be. Over the course of the last few episodes, her
peaceful side has shown her how important the colonies are and now she no
longer sees them as needing to be conquered through deception but protected at
all costs. In a way, her two sides began
to merge together into a new Lady Une.
Honestly, considering how she finds herself coming to understand the
Gundam Pilots, it wouldn’t shock me if she figured out Trowa was a spy all
along and just didn’t care. It sucks
this version of Une had to be gunned down by Tuberov. Here’s hoping she isn’t out of the game for
long. Same for Trowa but, let’s face it,
he’s more likely to return faster cause he’s a Gundam Pilot.
Treize’s stand against Romafeller and Duke Dermail is a
good setup for the second half of the series.
The themes of military power vs. the worth of the human spirit will no
doubt be a driving force as Mobile Dolls prepare to be delivered to Earth. At this point, it’s really hard to say if
Treize is still a bad guy or not. He’s
got a crap ton of blood on his hands, then again so do Zechs, Lady Une and many
other OZ soldiers who are trying to change their ways. I still think Treize wants to run things his
way but is unable to just because Romafeller is too strong as a united group
for now. I would say that’s interesting
since Treize’s God Complex would make me think he wouldn’t be intimidated by
this. But clearly Treize is more an
inspiration than the ancient old men running Romafeller. I’m sure he’ll have another coup d’etat
running in no time.
We got new mecha galore this time around too. We didn’t get one, or two but THREEE new
Gundams thrown into the mix. At long
last, DEATHSYTHE RIDES AGAIN!!! The
debut of Duo’s Deathsythe Hell and Wufei’s Altron Gundam (bet you he still
calls in Nataku), was way too brief but still very satisfying considering the
beating the two of them have taken in the last ten episodes or so. Double blade energy sythes and two dragon
fangs? I cant wait to see what these two
can do once they’ve been 100% completed (and yet they were already kicking ass
at 70%...that’s gonna be awesome). Then
there’s Wing Zero, a Mobile Suit even the five Gundam Designers feared to
complete. It’s drawn super pretty in its
first outing and you can sense the power it wields without it having to fire a
shot. The face that it has two buster
cannons that can unite into a mega gun is just an added bonus to how cool Wings
new flagship Gundam has turned out to be…though it was a pretty intense monster
in its debut, so scary.
If there was one thing that held this week back a bit, it
was Zech’s “Good will tour” of the colonies.
I think the current state of things has been addressed almost to death
by this point with OZ and the colonies getting along now. There wasn’t much of a need for Zechs to hear
what we’ve already come to learn and accept by this point. I’m not even certain Zechs’ plotline really
went anywhere. Guess that just depends
on whether or not he sticks around or goes back to Earth. He claimed to represent the destroyed Sanc
Kingdom…is he acting in it’s spirit or has something developed with that place
we haven’t heard about yet? It’s an
intriguing mystery for sure, something I think we’ll get to right away when the
second half gets going.
One last thing, Duo’s big return to action episode was a
great rebound for my favorite character after losing his Gundam. Duo got to go all one man, roll on the ground
shooting an enemies, army trying to reach the Lunar Base. He even managed to catch the attention of the
super cute Hilde. Hope she ends up
coming back sometime. Heero has his stalker girl and Zechs has Noin. Why cant the others find somebody to
love?
Man, reviewing this series can be tiring, if only because
everythings always changing so quickly.
But I’m halfway done and I’m not going to quit now. Check back Friday as the second half of
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing gets underway here on the Anime Corner.
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