review: OZ and White Fang go toe to toe.

April 27, 2000

Series Gundam Wing

Episode 38: Relena Becomes Queen

Airing Date 2000-04-26

Sci-fi Bits OZ uses a colony as a battle shield.

Juicy Bits Quatre's found and Trowa's memory returns.

Featuring Paul William Dobson as Heero Yuy Scott McNeil as Duo Maxwell Brian Drummond as Zechs Merquise David Kaye as Treize Khushrenada Ward Perry as Chang Wufei Brad Swaile as Quatre Raebe Winner Saffron Henderson as Lucrezia Noin

Anime is revered for several reasons. The images are often startling, the storylines complex, the action intense and the characters are drawn in three-dimensional strokes. Add an often-mythological foundation and deep back stories and it's easy to see how someone could get hooked for life after viewing their first show. What's unfortunate, though (at least in the English versions) are the wooden lines the characters spout every few minutes.

Lines like, "We all must sacrifice our lives for the sake of worldwide peace" or "Why are we fighting this useless battle in outer space when we share a common enemy?" would choke any actor, yet they're standard fare for quality shows like Gundam Wing. It's a shame that top-notch writers -- or perhaps quality translators -- aren't employed to bring the dialogue up to the level of the rest of the production. Okay, speech over. Let's get to the good stuff, shall we?

Things begin where they left off, with the battle in outer space between the Alliance and the members of the newly-formed White Fang. Chang Wufei has begun attacking anyone with a weapon -- not just Romefeller's Mobile Dolls but White Fang members, too. Believing that anyone with a weapon has the potential to punish the weak, Chang orders both sides to discard their arms.

Lucrezia Noin shows up in her Mobile Suit and offers Chang a partnership -- she'll work with him to bring about total pacifism to the colonies and to Earth as well. Chang, being the stubborn Gundam pilot that he is, turns her down and zooms off to the dark recesses of outer space. Noin watches him go, confused.

The Gundam Boys moments before they kick N'Sync's asses.

The other four Gundam pilots, meanwhile, are pretty busy themselves. Heero works on his newly procured Wing Gundam Zero. We're not told what he's doing but one suspects he's trying to understand its Zero System better so that he won't lose his mind the next time he goes into battle. Duo Maxwell sees an ad that the Winner family is looking for potential employees, which is a tip-off that Quatre is back home again. Duo meets his old buddy and lets slip that Trowa's now working in a circus. Quatre, feeling guilty for Trowa's weakened mental condition, visits Trowa and apologizes to his friend. Unfortunately, Trowa doesn't know who the hell Quatre is.

Just then, though, the Alliance moves their Mobile Suits into position so that the colony is in the middle of an OZ/White Fang firefight. Trowa regains some of his former memories as Quatre rushes off to his Gundam suit. Outnumbered in outer space, he's surprised by Trowa, who zooms up in a space shuttle.

Finally, Relena Peacecraft is installed as Queen of the world. She makes a stirring speech, abolishing all national borders and claims that finally, the world is one global nation. As the crowds cheer, we wonder if passports have just become a collector's item. And if so, anyone wanna buy mine?

--Ross Brooks takes all major credits cards but cash is preferred.

Past Gundam Wing Reviews

37: Zero vs. Epyon
36: The Collapse of the Sanc Kingdom

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