The Great Gundam Wing Rewatch: Episodes 1 and 2

[nanslice]

First, a recap of the episodes watched this week!



Episode One - The Shooting Star She Saw
In the year After Colony 195, after decades of oppression from the United Earth Sphere Alliance and its secret weapons organization, OZ, a group of rebels in the space colonies send down five mobile suits known as "Gundams" to overthrow the militaristic regime. Four of the Gundams successfully make it to Earth, but the fifth, Wing Gundam, is intercepted during its descent by OZ's Lieutenant Zechs Merquise and it crashes into the Pacific Ocean. The Gundam's pilot, Heero Yuy, later washes up on shore and is discovered by Relena Darlian, the daughter of the Alliance's vice foreign minister.

Episode Two - The Gundam Deathscythe
Zechs locates the sunken Wing Gundam in the Pacific Ocean and seeks to claim it for OZ, while Heero attempts to destroy his Gundam with stolen torpedoes in order to prevent OZ from getting their hands on it. However, both of their plans are thwarted by Duo Maxwell, pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe.


To kick us off, I thought I'd pose some discussion questions. These aren't required; you guys are welcome to answer them or ignore them and talk about whatever you want (as long as it's not ship/character bashing; disliking a character is fine, bashing them is not), or even just liveblog in the comments, that's fine too. Just about anything goes. :3

We were introduced to a lot of characters in these two episodes, some more briefly than others. I know that most of us are watching this for the second or third time, but what were your first opinions on these characters? What did you think about Heero's actions and Relena's decisions? The standoff between Heero, Relena, and Duo? What were your impressions of the other pilots we were given brief glimpses of?

Comments

[turlough]

Damn! I knew there was something I'd forgotten to do this week. I won't have time to watch them tonight, I don't think, but hopefully tomorrow.

[nanslice]

So okay, the first episode aired on Toonami in 2000. I watched it and I remember, when the previews were playing, I was mispronouncing it as GunDAMN.

I feel so old right now. ;;;;

Anyway, as soon as Just Communication started playing I tripped and fell right down the nostalgia hole and it felt so good.

The Shooting Star She Saw
Zechs looks so damn silly compared to the people around him. He's so dramatic, with the mask and the long hair, and absolutely no one mentions it. It's hilarious to me.

When Wing is intercepted and transforms for the first time, the animation gets so much better and I love it. And when Heero cackled, I was just like. Dude. Calm down.

Heero and Relena's meeting is pretty great, ngl. She comes off as so composed and he's such a wild thing; the expression on his face when he was hiding it from her was great. ;3;

So I remember really disliking Relena but maybe it was her dub voice actress because she's much more tolerable now (or maybe I'm less of an asshole yaoi fangirl, that might be it). I still think some of her decisions are the greatest but she is a teenager and that's what they do; make dumb decisions.

The quick shots of the other pilots is nice. Quatre's in particular gives us a good idea of how kindhearted he is and Wufei, hahaha. His complete self-assuredness is pretty great. ;3;

Even dressed up as a student, Heero looks like a damn serial killer.

When Heero wiped Relena's tears away, that was suave as hell. Granted, he was the one who caused them and then he threatened her but still; that tear wipe scene is amazing. I love it.

The Gundam Deathscythe
Heero knows how to ride a horse and for some reason this is hilarious to me. Like, in his training to become a perfect soldier to learn horseback riding. It just seems like something completely unnecessary.

"Anyone who's seen me has got a date with his maker." Duo's crazy too. ;3;

When Relena called Heero a Star Prince I laughed so damn hard. I just. That's. Why? Is that referencing something I don't know? Oh man.

Gundam Deathscythe is the coolest Gundam imo. I mean, you know, so far. So awesome looking. And to turn off Wing's self-destruct protocol, it poked it in the butt huehuehuehue I'm a child.

"Why do you want to shoot him?" Really? Really? Heero was about to shoot Relena pointblank and she's mad at Duo. I don't understand, man. Although when she was helping Heero and he looked at her with that open expression, I did 'aawww' a bit, ngl.

The lighting on Duo's face when he had that torch up was really nice. I really like his character design. ;3;

ANYWAY. What a good start to the show! I like how we're immediately thrown into the action and how they go ahead and show most of the main characters.

[straightforwardly]

It's been so long, that I don't really remember my initial impressions of the characters. I do know that I didn't see the first few episodes of the series until later, because I watched this series in disjointed bits and pieces. Overall, though, younger!me loved Zechs best, with various characters, including Relena, Duo, Treize, and Trowa, coming in second. So far, this time around, I still like pretty much everyone— though, of course, we haven't gotten very far yet.

One thing that strikes me, now that I'm older, is how odd Relena and Heero's interactions are in the beginning. I can't quite figure out what's driving Relena at this point, which makes me feel a bit awkward when I'm watching those interactions. I don't remember ever having this reaction before to these episodes, so it's interesting.

As for that scene between Heero, Relena, and Duo, it's always amused me, mainly because of Duo's reaction to Relena defending Duo.

(I've also posted a live-blog of my reactions to the episodes to my journal.)

[nanslice]

Yes! I don't really understand what Relena's doing. Why is she so intent on getting close to someone who has, at the very least, been a huge jerk? I don't understand why. I realize she's figuring out that things are quite was they appear (the lies on the radio, for example) but it still doesn't seem like a very good idea.

Duo was trying to help Relena and he got scolded for it, poor kid. :<

[kalloway]

I have to laugh at the outright surprise that everyone has that PEOPLE LIVING IN ADVANCED SPACE COLONIES somehow have tech on par with the Earth. That and the colonies did a horrible job keeping their plans a secret because apparently everyone knows about it.

[yoshitsune]

Anyway, as soon as Just Communication started playing I tripped and fell right down the nostalgia hole and it felt so good.

Yesssss, so true. I was quite obsessed with that OP and I still like it, but probably more for nostalgia. GW had quite a distinct soundtrack by having all the vocal tracks performed by TWO-MIX (except the ED?).

When Heero wiped Relena's tears away, that was suave as hell.

lmao "suave" was my exact thought too (too suave compared to later Heero tbh).

Heero knows how to ride a horse and for some reason this is hilarious to me. Like, in his training to become a perfect soldier to learn horseback riding.

In my mind he never actually had formal training in horseback riding, or fencing either, but that anything he learned about piloting a Gundam and driving various vehicles he applies to other situations. Also making sure that Heero could learn quickly by observing seems like something Dr. J would do. I also like the thought that despite never being near a horse before, Heero doesn't give af and stays on with sheer will and badassery even when it's rearing and galloping around haha.

Though that he used the horse just to ride under a window he was going to break into cracks me up. Like, that's not conspicuous at all.

[yoshitsune]

Ohhh my god I'd forgotten so much about this series, and all the cool bits just got clumped together in my mind.

I didn't even remember that things started with that brief fight between Heero and Zechs (they sure introduced that rivalry early). In retrospect I'm surprised that 6x1 wasn't a more popular pairing (maybe because Zechs' face wasn't shown until later?).

Early series Heero seems almost ooc though. Like the part where he's laughing gleefully while killing was never repeated iirc, and I quite like the fan-theory that he was on some drugs cooked up by Dr. J to make him more focused on his mission, but also… unstable. It's fun to see him being so suave and sassy, but I like him more later on.

Wufei! My fav being resourceful and efficient and giving less fucks than anyone. Also collarbones! I'll probably be seal-clapping through his first focus episode because it's always been my favourite.

Relena… I definitely like her more now. For a sheltered 15 y.o. who's been raised to be just a prim little lady, she's got guts and an independent streak. Also her pacifism and belief in common decency shining through already, though coming out as questionable life decisions.

[nanslice]

Right? "Colonists can...do things? With space stuff?" It's just ridiculous. I'm going to go ahead and say the Earth has a superiority complex going on and that's why they're so surprised the lowly colonies are capable of doing stuff. |D

But yeah, this was the worst secret ever. Let's just toss these mobile suits at the Earth and hope one of them sticks.

[nanslice]

That works! Although I also though about him not being able to ride horse and, while totally keeping his cool about it, mentally going "shit shit shit where's the button where's the lever shit shit shit" hahaha.

Yeah, he didn't do a good job hiding his tracks at all. XD

[nanslice]

I think maybe one of the problems was that we didn't know how hold Zechs was, just that he was an adult and Heero was a teenager? Which never bothered me (I wrote a pretty explicit 13x2 fic) but maybe other people had a problem with it. :\a

Oh man, I've never heard that fantheory! I was surprised at how cocky he seemed in these episodes; I don't remember him being so much so. I think I'll agree with. There was a 1x2 fic called Duo's Braid that worked under the premise that the pilots were being drugged.

I wouldn't say I like her but she's definitely better now than when I was 14, hahaha. I don't want to get into spoilery territory (for anyone new who might be watching) but I know she gets better later on. :3

[taichara]

I continue to be stubborn and it's the dub for me, lol ;3

A stand-out thing here is that the colonies (as a whole) have existed for nearly two centuries, and the implication is that it's only the 'present' in which Earth is staging a hostile takeover. And hostile it is, with mobile suit units forcibly occupying the colonies themselves. Far from sabre-rattling it's an all-out act of, well, colonization, and it's really no wonder that it was reacted to badly.

There's also no indication given that this is an ideological clash, or a sociological clash, or that it may be over the resources available to the colonies (metals, rare alloys -- gundanium! -- volatiles, etc etc). No, it's boot-on-face time, pure and simple, although I'm sure that last point will definitely be a factor.


Wing continues to have the best grunt suits, yeeessss ~


Not surprisingly, Heero continues to be highly entertaining in his attempts (necessary as they are) to remove himself and his machine from the picture. He's an entertainingly durable little piker ;3~ And about as subtle as a brick, snarkbag humour notwithstanding, which kind of says something about the other attendees at that school. His drive to remove all evidence (including himself) is understandable; I can well imagine what he's expected to have happen if he's captured alive, and no one is going to want a machine of Wing's power falling into Alliance hands.

Speaking of subtle, I will never stop being entertained at how everyone and their dog knows about Operation Meteor *snrrk* Which makes an intriguing contrast with how sheltered the school students are -- as the news report we hear drives home.

Zechs is eccentric as they come (just ask his minions) but there's a tactical mind beneath the nuttery. Yes, even where the infamous (dub) 'machine gun' line comes in; heavier artillery than machine gun fire is going to be needed here ;3b His playing of the captain of the Marina is a lovely thing to watch. At this early stage he's a counterpoint to Heero; everything Heero needs to avoid, in more ways than one.

And then there's Relena, who frankly comes off as more than a little batshit here what with the playacting at empty air and general crazed (and entitled; someone has spoiled their kid) antics. I'd like to know how she managed to actually get into the base at the end unopposed, lol ;3

Duo is an interesting case, choosing to be resourceful -- and, despite his declaration that all who see him need to die, is carrying flares (to avoid that very outcome?), used to good purpose against Relena ... and Heero, since he doesn't know Heero is Wing's pilot. It's an interesting wrinkle, to have a means to try to avoid (civilian?) deaths.

There's not a lot to say about Trowa at this point, lol. Quatre is already set up as a standout against the others (offering surrender terms, fascinated by a planet he's never seen -- and his small legion of loyal minions). Wufei has definitely come prepared ... and has resources of his own, it seems ;3~ And too much pride to 'hide'.


And then there is Treize, whom we also see only briefly but already stands out. Obviously up to some internal machination inside the Alliance, he's contrasted against General Septum and calls out the man and his fellows about unnecessary loss of life in a way that both hints that he values his own soldiers more, and that he's deliberately choosing words to provoke. We don't know his game yet, but anyone creating their own secret sub-faction (Specials/OZ), well ~


For overly-lengthy train of consciousness commentary on these episodes, it's tossed over here lol: http://taichara.dreamwidth.org/148956.html

[taichara]

Actually it's not that they have tech on par with the Earth, it's that they have tech (well, materials) far exceeding what the Earth is currently fielding and are actively using it -- which for the conquering groundpounders is more than a bit of a problem ;3b

[kalloway]

Well yeah, but everyone seems so randomly surprised about it. Meanwhile, while having tech/materials to make the Gundams... each colony-cluster makes one machine and puts a teenage boy in the cockpit. I suppose that's a decent strategy for keeping it all a--

--wait, worst-kept secret ever.

[taichara]

Zechs looks so damn silly compared to the people around him. He's so dramatic, with the mask and the long hair, and absolutely no one mentions it. It's hilarious to me.

No one is going to tell their commanding officer to his face that he's a nutter ;3~ And despite his ... eccentricities, Zechs already comes across as surprisingly competent, so his minions seem willing to deal with his weirdness. (their tones though, at least in the dub, lolololol poor Zechs)


Heero knows how to ride a horse and for some reason this is hilarious to me. Like, in his training to become a perfect soldier to learn horseback riding. It just seems like something completely unnecessary.

With all the high-society throwback-looking folks in the Earth military apparatus seen so far, with their waisted jackets and fringed epaulets and faux-nobility, I'd say training the potentially infiltrating terrorist in 'noble' activities like equestrianship -- and fencing! -- would be a smart thing to do X3 Semi-similar logic to why Relena's school is turning the youngsters into proper young nobility here in this far-flung future, really.

[taichara]

These are clearly not soldiers we're dealing with here, either, keep in mind ;3~

Willing to kill themselves, sent out in machines that will make the enemy freak and powerful enough to dish out massive damage singly, and have no idea about each other (re: Duo's reaction to seeing Wing and the similarity to Deathscythe) -- these are terrorists. Child terrorists.

I'd be surprised there was a colony force willing to throw away shit like that just to cause death and chaos also ~! After all, what else might they have waiting if they'll throw stuff like this away on suicide terrorists?

[nanslice]

Haha, it's true, he's good at his job, we can already tell! But he's so damn weird, bless his heart. I would have loved for one minion to whisper something to another minion about it. It's a small space though, he's probably hear. ;3;

I'm not sure why Heero enrolled in Relena's school. Was it to kill her? To hide as a normal teen? I just don't know. Unless I missed something, which would not be surprising. XD But I'm glad he did because I needed that threat, it makes me happy every time.

[taichara]

That and they're probably used to it -- and that was a loyal lot, lol ~

To give himself a staging ground conveniently nearby long enough to destroy Wing, is my take. That's the first thing we see him going for, and it would make sense to enroll in a school with his leet haxxor skills; bed, board, and whatever else you might be needing while you're there. I doubt he was much worried about any reactions to subsequent disappearance on his part X3~

[taichara]

Heero's reactions I can understand, but Relena is just odd as hell really.

[taichara]

I think that seeing the reality of having to function in the world, under a mission or no, sobered Heero up with some alacrity after his first foray. It's not as easy as it looks in theory. (he stays sassy, he's just subtle ;3)

[yoshitsune]

Considering the relative popularity of 13x5 I didn't think the age gap would be a huge barrier. But then Heero was usually busy being paired with Duo, so Zechs had to go somewhere else.

But yes, 14 year old self had little time for Relena either.;;

[yoshitsune]

Hhahah oh I do like that mental image.

[yoshitsune]

I would subscribe to this idea. Also less suspicious to hide out in a boarding school of international rich brats than for an unaccompanied minor to be booking into a hotel or sleeping in a park.

[taichara]

Indeed.

Stealing the ambulance was enough of a red flag ;3~

[yoshitsune]

Hmmm I'm not sure that's what sobers him up (though I'm saying that with his backstory in mind).

[taichara]

Ei, I'm minding backstory but I'd say it's still a fair theory --