Gundam Wing (1995)
Gundam Wing is a great example of the mecha subgenre of anime, and
adheres to the mecha format quite closely. There are colorful giant robots,
teenage heroes, intergalactic conflicts, an eleventh hour anti-war message,
and a catchy soundtrack – all hallmarks of mecha series. While older fans
have seen it all before, and more serious-minded fans might wish for a
more grown-up anime, it’s important to remember that anime series exist
for every taste. Kids who like Star Wars will enjoy Gundam,
and it’ll introduce them to the world of anime beyond Pokemon.
Gundam
Wing’s plot, like the plots of previous Gundam series (some
of which are over 20 years old), revolves around colorful giant robots
called the Gundam (because Gundamian, an imaginary metal, is used in their
construction). These robots are good old-fashioned crowd-pleasers. They
have flashy primary colors, neat weaponry, and frequently feature dazzling
animation. These robots are part of an anime tradition dating back to Robotman
in the 1960s, and even the most jaded long-time fan is likely to perk up
whenever the robots seize center stage. The many battles among the giant-sized
Gundam are the stuff that many kids’ sci-fi dreams are made of. In fact,
the fights translated fairly easy into a Super Nintendo video game, as
seen in the illustration. Gundam Wing isn’t Ghost in the Shell
or Evangelion – and has no pretensions as such.
The rest of Gundam Wing is merely standard. The series begins
with a backstory of how Earth and its colonies are at the verge of war,
and introduces us to our mysterious hero, appropriately named Heero. Our
Heero has a bad attitude problem that matches his superhuman powers and,
before too long, is recruited by other Gundam pilots as part of a colonial
revolt. Right from the start, Heero enjoys a love-hate relationship with
Relena, the richest girl in school. In the first few episodes, Heero tears
up a birthday invitation in Relena’s face, threatens her verbally, and
even pulls a gun on her. Relena, naturally, can’t get enough of this treatment
and becomes totally devoted to Heero. Evidentially, the sexual revolution
in Japan was incomplete. The rest of the main characters are considerably
nicer; one of them actually apologizes to enemies before killing them!
Like most 1990s anime, Gundam Wing’s English dubbing leaves a
lot to be desired. It’s unfortunate that anime dubbing has, for the most
part, actually degenerated from the days when Streamline Pictures ruled
the anime home video market. The actors make the dialogue seem even duller
than it actually is, and rob much-needed emotion from every scene. I’d
previously read the manga adaptation of Gundam Wing (drawn by Koichi
Tokita), and from what I could tell from watching the anime, the pacing
was just fine - it was the voice acting that dragged, and sucked the drama
out of the series. Granted, this should matter little to the kid’s audience
the Canadian dub is targeted for, but older viewers will probably find
the dubbing a sure cure for insomnia.
People who dislike mecha aren’t going to like Gundam Wing, and
older mecha fans will probably prefer Evangelion, Macross or Bubblegum
Crisis. I can’t really recommend Gundam Wing in its current
dubbed incarnation to any experienced anime fans, but younger fans will
definitely get a kick out of the show.
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