DVD 10

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Episode 46: Milliardo's Decision

Still don't get if there's supposed to be some color-coding thing with the boys' flightsuits. They're basically identical except that Duo and Trowa's have blue while the other three have brown.

And I don't quite get why Treize chose to use mostly Leos, when Taurus can be given beam sabers rather easily and have better performance.

Hey, Treize's assistant there looks like one of the Frosts.

Please, they're talking about Hero-Boy running to rescue the Princess as if there were some rhyme or reason to it. You silly guys...

Heheheheheh..."Let's leave the two of them alone." Quatre, you old dog you.

Yeah, real subtle there Heero...

Wow, she's being open and honest about her feelings for him. Wish I remembered this...

And now Zechs just makes his big declaration of intent. Jeez, I missed a whole lot last time I watched the show.

Yeah, things are seeming to go out of Dorothy's ideal right about now.

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Episode 47: Collision in Space

Amazing, the battle is even despite the use of Virgos?

XD I love how enthusiastic that one Peacemillion bridge guy is. I wish we knew more about him.

STILL got no earthly idea what it is Duo found in that room. Popular theories include the five engineers, the most logical choice, or A and B having sex, where A and B = the members of your favorite pairing.

XD @ Trowa performing a really fancy acrobatic trick, then bowing to the soldiers trying to kill him before he runs off.

Oh wait, they show Duo talking to the engineers shortly after that above scene. Immediately before that (but after Dorothy shoots Quatre), they show a door wedged open with its access panel destroyed. In other words, that's what Duo found.

Okay, not only do the engineers re-iterate the fact that Zechs is just trying to make a horrible war to scare people into peace, but they reveal that it's the very reason they helped finish Libra and the MD Mercurius and Vayeate. All we need for the series to mirror the manga any closer is Zechs' last-second defection.

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Episode 48: Takeoff into Confusion

Okay, we FINALLY get the authentic RE opening, with all its animation...on the next-to-last episode. o_O

And Wu Fei gets a Newtype sound effect. A tip of the hat to his original character concept?

TALLGEESE KICK!

Ah, now here's the scene where they get closest to outright saying "Heero is straight and loves Relena"; too bad it's still not enough. Then again, that doesn't stop them from doing the same to characters who are obviously straight and in love with women (like say, Will Turner).

Heh, Heero is smiling throughout this whole damn scene.

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Episode 49: The Final Victor

I swear to God, everyone seems to really misunderstand this show in one way or another - even myself. So many people assume that Zechs' actions here at the end are horribly out of character and done only to have him mirror Char - but SEVERAL TIMES in the show, several people INCLUDING ZECHS HIMSELF say exactly what his intentions are for siding with White Fang.

Yup, the "non-alcoholic" request was in the original Japanese too.

Hee hee, the big hinting at Quinze's relation to Operation Meteor...

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End of series

Wow. I finished Gundam Wing in the span of one weekend by powering through it a few hours at a time. My final verdict? It's just as good - no, better than I remember it being. The first time I watched this show, I was amazed and enchanted by the world of possibilities it presented. Now that I'm older and (despite my best efforts) wiser, I can truly appreciate the subtleties that the staff worked in. The characters I admired before are even better, and the delicate work on the plot still makes me smile. Of course, not the least a factor in my love of it is the fact that it's the reason I met so many wonderful people who have helped shape my life. As bizzare and possibly foolish as it may sound, Gundam Wing helped me become the person I am today by helping me out of the self-imposed isolation I put myself into because I felt so different and out of touch with my peers. I always felt like nobody knew what I was going through...but now I know differently. I have the best friends a man can have, and the love of a wonderful woman, things I never would have had if I had just sat in the shadows like before. I now know that the people who insult the show were never trying to understand it, and that's their problem. But the real lesson this show has taught me: in life, as with all things, the most important thing is just communication.