Anime Column] Tokimeki☆Time Trip Vol.13 "New Mobile Suit Gundam W" Dangerous Gundam Pilots! Five unpredictable co-stars!

I still love it when I look at it now!"
Why were they so popular with the ladies?"
There is a reason for everything interesting!　Female anime writers take a look back at some of the old favorites that have become hits with female anime fans.

This time, we will focus on "New Mobile Suit Gundam W (Wing)," which is now available in a "special limited edition" Blu-ray box set.

The year is 1995, 16 years after "Mobile Suit Gundam," or "First Gundam," was broadcast in 1979. Following "Mobile Suit V Gundam" (1993), which had a space century worldview, and the non-space century "Mobile Martial Gundam" (1994), which stunned fans with its Gundam fights, the second non-space century TV series to be broadcast was "New Mobile Senki Gundam W".

This work became a big hit among female viewers. Today, after "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" (2002) and "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" (2007), it is not unusual for "Gundam" series to be popular among women. However, the "Gundam" series was groundbreaking at the time, when the series was perceived as being for core male fans.

After the release of "Operation Meteor" (1996), a compilation of character-specific stories, the sequel OVA "New Mobile Succession Gundam W Endless Waltz" (3 episodes) was produced in 1997, reflecting the popularity of the series.

The author, who was familiar with the boom at the time of its broadcast, looks back on the enjoyment of this work.

Too much freedom!　Incomprehensible beautiful boys

What in the world is this new "Gundam"? Is it an idol squadron?

The visuals of the five beautiful boys designed by Shuko Murase had a big impact when they were first announced.

Compared to the previous "Gundam" series, which had been known for its masculinity (the same was true of the previous year's "Gundam G" series, which had many new challenges), "New Mobile Suit Gundam W" was clearly on a different path.

But when it began, I was surprised twice. The smart-looking Gundam pilots were indeed secret agents sent to Earth from the colonies.

Heero Yui, whose habitual phrase is "Mission Accomplished," has no fear of death.
Duo Maxwell, who calls himself the cheerful Grim Reaper, is a relatively sensible and hardworking man.
Trowa Burton is a taciturn clown who boasts of his gymnastic skills.
The seemingly calm and unforgiving Cator Lababa Winner, who hears the voices of the universe.
Zhang Wufei, a lone warrior who has no respect for women and the weak.

These visually appealing but emotionally unappealing boys, unaware of each other's identities, set out on a mission to Earth to fight, worry, carry out their mission, and nearly die. That is how the drama progresses.

As a fan who cares about the five Gundam pilots, I would like to see them interact together as soon as possible. However, the universe is a big place, and the earth is a big place, too, and each of the five is a guerrilla who makes his or her own decisions according to the situation at hand.

In the first place, they are the kind of people who would kill before greeting each other, so it is difficult to have a conversation with them. I remember how relieved I was when the duo and Katoru finally met and were able to have a conversation.

In the latter half of the story, the "Wing Gundam Zero," a demonic mobile suit that causes people to lose their minds when they get on it, and some of them suffer from amnesia, appeared. In many ways, I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Heero and Lilina, a thrilling relationship that kills and is killed

In the "Gundam" series, an ordinary boy encounters a Gundam as a weapon, gets involved in a battle, and the story begins. In this work, however, it is the heroine, Lilina Dorian, who plays that role at the beginning of the story.

Lilina is an ordinary girl who has never known war, a well-bred young lady, a princess of a kingdom, a widowed brother, and eventually the queen of the earth. As the battle progressed, her circumstances changed dramatically, making her seem like another main character.

The popularity of the five Gundam pilots was of course high, but the "romantic element" between Heero, the main character, and Lilina, the heroine, was also a major factor in the popularity of "New Mobile Suit Gundam W" among women.

In the first episode, Lilina finds a boy (Heero) lying on the beach, but he is shocked to see her face and leaves. Soon after, Hiiro arrives at the school as a transfer student. Lilina is attracted to him and hands him an invitation to her birthday party. Lilina is so taken with him that she hands him an invitation to her birthday party, but Heero tears it up, wipes away Lilina's shocked tears with his fingertips, and the next moment whispers in her ear, "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you.

What is it? I think. What is it ......?" Lilina thinks, too. It is said that two people who meet on a suspension bridge fall in love because they mistake a thrill for excitement, and Hirono and Lilina are the best example of this. But unconscious love probably began at this point.

Heero is expressionless and his behavior is outlandish, while Lilina is a young lady and her behavior is still a mystery. Although it is difficult to understand, the two are conscious of each other for a long time after this, and they keep saying to each other, "Hiiro, come and kill me quickly," "What am I doing? This guy should be dead. ......!" And so on. He leaves us with a lot of great (or lost?) lines.

However, for the viewer, "I don't understand" leads to "I want to know. This is the basis of romance and love. It is also true that the inexplicability of the Gundam pilots and Lilina is a big part of their charm.

The beautiful young men who go their own way, and the older women who can make women like them.

For the older women who think that "children alone are boring," there is the beautiful young duo of Trades, the general of the secret organization Oz, and Zechs, the masked officer who has been promised in the "Gundam" series. However, this adult team was also full of mystery.

The young charismatic General of OZ, Trace Kushlinada, always maintains his unique elegance. He sees the beauty in people who fight, but also the evil in wars that inflict mass casualties. His characteristic roundabout way of speaking and his conversations with Wufei and Heero were quite interesting.

Then there is Zechs Marquis, who is actually Lilina's older brother. He, too, is one who desires revenge without becoming evil, has his own blue streak, and wishes for a world without battles. He started out as an officer in OZ, but was forced out of OZ and moved from place to place. Thanks to this, it was difficult to grasp the changing situation and relationships.

In "New Mobile Suit Gundam W," the female characters other than Lilina are also attractive. Lady Anne, a subordinate of Trades, has two faces, that of a soldier and a saint. Lucrezia Noin, who is a classmate of Zechs and knows his secret. They were cool, even from a woman's point of view, as they fulfilled their roles in politics and war while keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Dorothy Catalonia, who startled viewers who are no longer surprised by most things with the line, "Hurry up and go to war!

The story moves forward into the future on a fast-moving roller coaster ride.

Meaningful dialogues, unpredictable developments, changing relationships between allies and enemies one after another, and betraying interpretations. The viewer was swept along by characters whose emotions were engaging but whose feelings could not be fully read, and it was a pleasure to follow their meanings.

In many works, the causes and origins of events taking place in the present are often sought in the past. So, when you have a protagonist who is full of mysteries, at some point, his or her past is revealed.

This is how he was born, and this is how he became the way he is. His family is like this, his hidden heartbreak is like this, he looks like this now, but he originally has this kind of personality, and so on. However, in this story, these things are not revealed very often.

At the time of the broadcast, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, the series director, said in an interview I want to eliminate as much as possible the schematic understanding of "this is why this is the way it is. Whatever the viewer feels or thinks is correct. I want people to think of it as a program that goes on while actively thinking and discussing with everyone. ...... (Animedia, Gakken, February 1996).

For those who seek the causes of events in the past and are convinced that once the reasons are understood, everything seems to be clarified, they may feel that "Gundam W," which has few layers of past causality, is a "character-centered story.

However, the interesting aspect of this work lies in the fact that as the characters, who have clearly defined thoughts and personalities, do their best to do what they believe in, relationships change, there are victories and defeats, the future changes, and destinies turn around.

The kaleidoscopic flavor, as if watching a stage play with beautiful men and women, was a taste unique to "New Mobile Suit Gundam W." In this day and age of stage adaptations of comic and anime works, it would be a good fit if this work were staged at the Takarazuka Revue like "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes" or "Lupin the Third".

As the title suggests, the mobile suit in which Heero rides later evolved into an angelic, fluffy "winged" form, which also left a lasting impact. The heroic figure of the "Wing Gundam Zero (EW version)" can be seen in the OVA "New Mobile Suit Gundam W: Endless Waltz," which features particularly beautiful artwork.


(Text by YAMAYU)
(C) Sotsu, Sunrise