Note: This translation of "Gundam Wing" is the unedited version of the show broadcast on the Cartoon Network.
The FCC's often arbitrary guidelines (not prohibiting the word "kill" before a certain time of night, for example)
ensure that a toned-down version gets played during daylight hours. But the uncensored "Gundam" is a long way from
"Too Hot for TV."
Not to generalize, but this one's for the boys. Particularly boys who aren't terribly discriminating and enjoy watching
giant robots slugging it out over and over. Are we repeating ourselves? Well, so is the show. Be prepared for lots of shoptalk
about attack strategies and what mobile suit to employ, which (unless you happen to own a mobile suit yourself) is a cue for some
viewers' eyes to glaze over.
The predictable fight scenes and projectile-sporting robots should be enough to expose the series' shortcomings in the field
of writing and design. If it doesn't, the bad guys' annoying tendency to over-explain themselves in a "Now that I have you cornered,
I'm going to tell you my dastardly plan as well as my motivation" vein, will.
Just about the only people who are going to stick with the impersonal action are boys 14-and-under (mentally). Essentially,
the battles involve giant robots fighting in the sky or underwater. And while the mobile suits are the center of the show's universe,
they seem more like the creations of a bored teenager doodling in math class than bona-fide military hardware. Cannons and sabers
sticking out of every orifice may look dramatic, but they're probably far less effective than, say, a well-placed smart missile.
Relena, Heero's love interest, looks like she might be the series' only hope for redemption. But she doesn't quite balance the
scales as the diminutive yin to "Gundam Wing's" overwhelming yang. Though mysterious, spunky and angst-ridden, she hangs her head
in annoying, self-defeat. Her relationship with Heero is a caustic blend of schoolyard fickleness and, well, the sort of wise,
layered love story you'd expect from people sophisticated enough to save the world.
But don't expect any sophistication from the animation. The art smacks of Saturday morning dreck with flat backgrounds and a
careless focus. However, each episode usually has one or two genuinely beautiful images and some of the costume illustrations are
inspired. The villains, for example, wear military regalia reminiscent of the English officials who once took advantage of the
American colonies.
The biggest oppressor here, however, isn't the corrupt Earth Alliance. It's the team that created, marketed and shipped
the "Gundam Wing" series. And while imagining dumping bales of "Gundam Wing" tapes into Boston Harbor gratifies, the best weapon
may just be the off button on the remote.