Forum - View topicREVIEW: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Collector's Ultra Edition Blu-Ray
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stowrag
Posts: 47 |
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It's surprisingly refreshing to see someone recognize just how awesome Relena is. She starts out as a fangirl, but she grows so much throughout the show, especially in the second half.
I can't fault anything the review has to say, but I wouldn't score it so negatively on the final score. The show definitely shows its age, but it competently blends elements from every Gundam before it into an interesting new story, while mixing in some interesting new ideas. The characters are memorable, even if it's not always clear what's driving them. It's a product of it's time, but one I think is still worth revisiting. I definitely wouldn't suggest spending 200+ on the collector's edition when you can get the whole show for less than half that though. |
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Kicksville
 Posts: 1245 |
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Gundam Wing did something I think many other Gundam series have since tried to capture one way or another for years: It is the most successful Stupid Gundam.
(I'm not counting G Gundam, by the way - that's silly, but not stupid. There is a difference!) I should qualify that - I like Gundam Wing. I think what it manages to do is use the political intrigue as salad dressing for Hot Boys Terrorize Fancy Bad Guys in Superhero Robots. Maybe it'd be more fair to call it "Simple", but basically, whether or not previous and later Gundam shows are successful at being ambitious, they certainly try, whereas this sort of keeps its goals at a certain point and manages to not quite overstep too much. Of course, it's not entirely unfair to just say "it's still dumb", but...I think it works. This is as opposed to, say, Gundam Seed/Seed Destiny, which wanted to both get credit for being serious and gloss over stuff because it's a straight up action show. Doesn't quite hit the rhythm, if you ask me. Or Gundam 00 tossing out all its ambitions from season 1 to go for pure good guys vs bad guys in season 2. |
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Stampeed Valkyrie
 Posts: 856 Location: PA |
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This was the series that pretty much torpedo'd me into Otakudom... Watched on Toonami and had go through several viewings to get the complete story. Mostly because I missed an episode and everyone jumped teams, like they so often did in GW that you were left befuddled until they jumped teams again.
I pre-ordered this on Amazon.. which undercut right stuf's pre-order price by about $50 at the time.. so I didn't pay anywhere near $242 for this box.. I think it was closer to $130-140. Which I still found pricey.. The box itself is HUGE.. seriously the pictures of the set are very disproportionate, and it takes up quite abit of shelving real estate. The extras are kinda Meh.. the additional digital content aside.. the Artbook is by far and away the best part of this box. Hardbound and fullsize, not your typical bonus artbook. The other extras are lackluster in comparison.. The enamel pins of the characters.. ok I guess if your into pins. The main character tarot cards... silly. The mini posters are worth noting but not what I would consider a premium. As for the series.. the review pretty much nails it.. I'm not a Gundam Fanboy and my brief introduction to the franchise was GW. This series had characters hopping all over the place for no real reason.. Factions appear and dissapear with no real change in goals other then names and color palates for the mobile suits. It's outstanding points were the soundtrack.. Two-Mix if I remember correctly did great work on the TV Series OP and the Movie soundtracks.. and the movie Endless Waltz was a high point in comparison with the rest of the series. I would strongly recommend the regular set.... unless you need the artbook.. which is pretty sweet. |
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5500 |
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I think the artwork is better than a C. The designs are a nice throw back to the older shows, and environments were looked nice. I agree on the animation, it definitely is a lot worse than other mocha shows of the time.
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4594 Location: New York |
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It’s amazing looking back at what was (at the time) a quantum leap in what animation was doing on US TV and going “Honestly, Gundam 00 did all of this better.”
Because for better or worse, this was such a massive leap from the stuff airing on US TV at the time. |
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belvadeer
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Gundam Wing, wow. Those sure were the days, watching it on Toonami back when Toonami was an afternoon ritual with us growing teenagers. I won't ever forget those days. I also won't ever forget how all over the place the story was, and how Wufei was pretty much despised for being a total unfeeling jerk. XD
I quite agree. Relena's growth as a character was one of Wing's major highlights, and a lot of fellow Gundam enthusiasts I've spoken to think of Kudelia as the second coming of Relena. They certainly do seem similar. Last edited by belvadeer on Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Lemonchest
Posts: 1771 |
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I don't remember much, but I do remember watching Gundam Wing as a kid & thinking "why do they let these whiny kids pilot the cool robots?"
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Chiyosuke
 Posts: 394 |
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Must.
Find. Discount! (If this set isn't already sold out). This review got me reminiscing about my Endless Waltz DVD with the foil cover... |
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K7P5V
 Posts: 14 Location: Chicago, Illinois |
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I totally agree. The grade the artwork received is a bit low, but I get what the reviewer is saying. And I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I really did enjoy the artwork from this time period. |
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Codeanime93
Posts: 599 |
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Kudelia's characterspoiler[ falls apart though finally and becomes useless in the final half.] Seriously Kudelia disappoints me so much, she's no second coming. Season 1 had all her growth and that was about it. Same with McGillis really became a loser of a Char Clone by season 2 too. I like Wing and all of it's confusion of plot, it just shows that war in itself is often times a confusing mess of changing garbage. Plus yes I still find the writing better than season 2 of IBO's. At least Wing isn't throwing around spoiler[MUH BAEL, Dainsleifs, living Mobile Armors, plans to become King of Mars, Iok, "have my baby Mikazuki" subplots. ] |
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Lynx Amali
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It did get ambitous again come the movie which everybody seems to hate despite following up on the same themes as S1 did. Heck, most even fail recognizing the meaning of the flower despite it being drilled in by both S1 and S2. @codeanime: Don't be dumping on my boy, Hasmal. Easily the best arc IBO had, if only because it focused on the best part of its ideas; its backstory. Last edited by Lynx Amali on Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:27 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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rizuchan
 Posts: 980 Location: Kansas |
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I've actually been really torn on this set because I want all the extras but have very little desire to ever watch the show again. Much like Lauren says about her fanfics, I think that a huge part of Gundam Wing's (female) fandom was built on that damn promo art. It was not only shipping fuel but gave the pilots far more personality than the show ever did.
As for Relena, last time I rewatched I wanted to give her a new shot outside of all the fandom hate, but I still could not like her. She was just too naive, and it was frustrating that all of the other characters were mostly okay if not optimistic about that. Like, I understood how her naive "purity" was supposed to be like, a guiding light for their war-torn world... but it seemed like people were far too quick to give her far too much responsibility when she really had no idea how the world worked, and sure enough, the people of the Sanc kingdom paid for it. That said, even back then, I liked her a lot in Endless Waltz, where she had clearly learned from those experiences. It's too bad her character hadn't developed to that point by halfway through the TV series or so.
Actually, I was always bothered by how many girls loved Wu Fei, despite him being a vocal, unapologetic misogynist. |
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Codeanime93
Posts: 599 |
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Some girls really love bad boys apparently, especially misogynist jerks. I'm sure some girls really love Char Aznable despite the fact he's a ruthless cold jerk who does what he does. And yes Wufei got even worse in Endless Waltz, which is hilarious since even Char Clone Zechs in Endless Waltz had at least gotten better from the end of Wing. |
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Codeanime93
Posts: 599 |
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Sorry, I use Season 2 of IBO as a punching bag a lot currently as far as Gundam shows go. My intense hatred towards it has not ceased yet, probably will when the next Gundam show comes out. Last edited by Codeanime93 on Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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AiddonValentine
 Posts: 2341 |
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I would argue that it's not just Relena's show, but also Zechs'. He is one of the main movers of the series, influencing a lot, moving a lot of pieces, and his actions have a focus. Plus it helps because he's Relena's brother, thus making a connection with her. So it's weird how the main focus of the series isn't the Gundam pilots, but Zechs and Relena; makes you wonder why they were even there other than to provide fangirl fodder.
That being said, the show is still a freaking mess. It really feels like they were trying to fit a way bigger story arc than what was shown into the show (which is saying something considering it was a 50 episode show). There's no focus on the show which, instead of leading to a sprawling, epic story line, just leads to a meandering narrative that confuses the viewer. Of the three initial alternate timelines of the Gundam series, Wing stands out in that it doesn't stand out. G Gundam did something completely different by doing an over the top super robot show (which weirdly enough also had some decent female characters like Rain and Allenby) while X provided a unique post apocalyptic scenario and focused story set up around the crew of the Freeden. Wing is an artifact, one that's interesting for examination but not for entertainment or thematic value. |
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