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Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - Operation 1

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - Operation 1

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the best anime series of recent years
Review: INTRODUCTION:
Ever since the late seventies, the Gundam series has been one of the most successful and widely-loved anime series in the world. It has become a favorite of many over the years. There have been several different sub-series over the years, and one of the most popular ones of which is the Wing series, released in the mid-nineties. This is a DVD featuring episodes fromt that series. Read on for my review.

BASIC PLOT:
The Gundam Wing series follows the exploits of five young men who pilot mobile suits against the forces of an organization seeking world domination. There's Heero (the main man), Duo (the cool guy), Trowa (the quiet guy), Quatre (the peace-lover), and Wufei (the overconfident hothead.) The battle rages on for forty-nine episodes, and as the series progresses, a number of plot twists keep things interesting. This is a rare example of a series where the characters aren't paper thin - they continue to evolve as the series progresses. This is one of the best anime series out there, as one of the best mecha series.

SERIES OPINIONS:
To put it simply, this is an excellent series. Many fans of the Gundam series call this the best sub-series of all, and honestly, who can blame them? The storyline is great, the animation is great, the characters are great - everything about this series is great. It's good to see the series get a long overdue DVD release in America.

DVD:
These DVDs are good, because they contain several uncut episodes, but they're bad in that they don't contain any special features (that is, other than the very basic DVD stuff.) The series is one of the greatest anime series out there, but don't expect any bonus material.

OVERALL:
Overall this is an excellent anime series, and I recommend it to any anime or mecha fan. If you like either one, this series will not disappoint.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Most awesome if you love anime!
Review: Gundam Wing is not a show that you can come in late on and still enjoy it. When I started to watch it, it was on the recomendation of a friend and I came in about 2 weeks before the series was over was forever lost. Once it started over again on Cartoon Network, things started to make sense and I fell in love with the series and it's characters. It is set in After Colony 195 and it's a time when wars are breaking out in the colonies. Five Gundams are sent to earth to fight the secret organization of OZ. The five pilot are all teenagers, 4 are 15, one is 16. Their names are Heero Yuy (Japanese, 15), Duo Maxwell (American, 15), Trowa Barton (Latin American, 16), Quatre Raberba Winner (Arabian, 15) and Chang Wufei (Chinese, 15). In keeping with the long tradition of Gundam series, this series focuses most of it's attention on the characters. I personally recomend the subbed Gundam Wing. I think that there is a lot of stuff in the subbed that was lost in the dubbing. It's little things though like Heero makes all these noises in the dubbed when he gets shot and falls out of windows, but he doesn't in the subbed. Also I think that they gave Trowa and Heero too much charater in the dubbed. But I love both of them and both are way worth the money to buy them!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Oh man... even one star is too much
Review: I am aghast at all of the good reviews this series has received, therefore I felt the need to post my own opinion. And worry not, Wingers, it shall be short.

Basically all that I am going to say is that I ordered volume 8 of Mobile Suit Gundam from Amazon.com for $12 and they sent me the entire Gundam Wing DVD boxset instead. And you know what I did? I sent the boxset back because I wanted that darn MSG tape.

Don't think for a second that this is what Gundam is all about. Gundam is not babbling, superficial politics, overpowered Gundams, mindless killing that shows no human side of the soldiers, nonsensical "philosophy," and bishounen with ambiguous sexual orientation. Real Gundam shows what war is all about, it shows you the politics rather than have one character ramble on about them for one hour. It has real characters to whom you can relate and more emotion in one episode than in all 49 episodes of Wing.

Can you tell me the name of any of the OZ grunts that died at the hands of your beloved heroes, except for maybe Hilde's friend? I thought not. Go watch 0080 or Mobile Suit Gundam. Heck, even 08th MS Team is better than this tripe.

(By the way, God of Death was originally used in G Gundam in reference to the character Kieral. It's also used in 08th MS Team. So it is not hypocritical for a Wing-hater to use it.)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gundam Wing = Good Stuff
Review: The entire GW series is great, but I wanted to specifically mention the first video. It does a good job of setting up the series, introducing all the main characters and the basic plot. I definitely recommend this to any fan of anime, sci-fi, or just plain cool videos. For anyone wishing to get into GW, this is the best starting point, but be sure to pick up the other videos as well; there'll be 16 in all, or 10 DVDs. I prefer the uncut versions myself, but parents buying for kids should be advised that blood and swearing are present; if you don't want your kids hearing the word "damn" 100 times or seeing a pilot choke up blood, then go for the edited stuff. Just note that any time Heero refers to "destroying" Relena, he means "kill." Not that he'd ever really go through with it, of course. ;)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing
Review: The Gundam Saga began in 1979 with 3 movies entitled Shin Kidousenki Gundam (Mobile Siut Gundam) each movie was 2 1/2 hours long. This started a saga that now contains over 56 series, unrelated other than that they all contain the large Mechas (Robots) called Gundams. Gundam Wing premeired in 1995 in Japan and now (2000) is running with a English dub in the US on Cartoon Network. It is the story of 5 teenage Gundam Pilots and their adventures trying to save both the Earth and the space Colonies that sent them to fight. Each caricter has a rather disturbing past and there seems to be a lot of Yaoi hinting going on throughout the seriese between Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy and between Quatre Raberba Winner and Trowa Barton (Triton Bloom). The seriese is 49 episodes long and contains a lot of violence. (Charicteristic of Mecha Animes). Contrary to what the Amizon review says the DVD is actually rated 13 and Up for language and violence and Quatre is spelled with an E at the end of it, not an A. The DVD also comes with a holographic image of Heero and Gundam Wing-01 and has the first 5 episodes dubbed and subtitled. This seriese has become my favorite over the last few months. It has truely great animation, the music is great and the vocal artists from both counrties are phenominal! If you enjoy GW then there is also a 3 part OVA seriese about these charicters that was released in 1998 (in Japan) called "Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz" that Cartoon Network will be running soon in America. Shortly after it premeirs on TV it will be available to buy. It is actaully already available at Cartoon/Anime/Manga/Comic conventions in the US. It has been sighted at "Comic-com" in both subbed and dubbed formats.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A promising start to an excellent series.
Review: If you ask any anime fan,or more specifically those who like the giant robot genre,two names are constantly mentioned as being the best.The Macross and the Gundam series.Personally,I've always wanted to experience Gundam and I was patiently waiting for someone to bring over the Wing series.It certainly was worth the wait.

The story in the beginning seems simple enough.Humans have reached outer space and built colonies there.But after some time,the Earth government then finds some excuse and seizes control of the colonies and abuses it's citizens.In retaliation,the space colonies build five mobile suits called Gundams(they're made from Gundanium alloy,hence the name)and send them with their young pilots to Earth to destroy the Earth government by disguising them as shooting stars.Unfortunately,the plan is exposed and one of the Gundam pilots finds himself in a serious situation.

The story in this anime is superbly crafted,you may think it sounds like your average big robots story but it certainly is'nt.It discusses the ideals and motives behind war,and the people involved in it,and it quickly transcends that to an exploration of the human soul itself.The lines between right and wrong blur and you're often forced to question your own ideals and judgement.Then as more of the plot and characters are shown to you,you get the feeling the story is closer to a drama than your typical anime series.Not to mention that the cast of characters is strong and complex even from the beginning,and each seem to have their own reasons for doing what they do.

The animation is quite good considering this is a T.V. series,even though some flaws do appear at times and the music just complements the action on the screen.There are some nice camera angles that I hope will continue as the series evolves.The DVD is excellent.The menues are styled after the cockpit in the Gundams,and we are given a few extras for good balance.

Warning:This anime is certainly not for the faint of heart or those who need their heroes to be all-around good guys.While there is no blood and gore.And I don't consider it to be a violent series,I do know that there are people who can't stand explosions and death.If you're one of them,stay away from this title.

All in all,this is a promising start to what appears to be an excellent series.You are given a giant robot or mecha anime with quality in every aspect of it.And it's on DVD,and it has five episodes on it.I think it's more than worth the price.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: ok, but more coherent story necessary
Review: I apologize if this turns into a review of the series, but this is more a response to it currently being in the "Essential DVD" Anime section. Some good points of this series are its animation and general production quality, which both seem above par for a TV show. However, I never found that I could identify, or sympathize with any of the characters. I don't even like most of them. There seems to be no middle ground, either their too cruel or too nice, too aloof, or too outgoing. The plot is the same, convoluted to a point that if you miss an episode or two, whole groups of characters have changed sides and you will essentially have no idea what is going on. In all honesty, if you have the resources, see Gundam X which was released after GW in Japan(not yet released in US). Having seen the first twelve episodes, it has a plot that understands its limitations, and allows you to focus more on a few pilots and the main characters. Versus 5 pilots and who knows how many others in GW. Lots of characters and a complex plot are not bad, but I think GW is too confused in later episodes, trying too hard to impress the viewer, both with its outlandish plot and numerous upgrades to the mobile suits. Check out professional reviews of this show before you start buying this series. Basically, if the other 44 episodes aren't good enough, the first five shouldn't be "essential."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Gundam Wing Saga Begins...
Review: The first volume of Gundam Wing starts by giving us a summary of the political situation between the Earth government and the Colonies of outer space. From there we are treated to the entry of the Gundam Pilots, who begin their all-out war against the Oz military oganization (which is hiding itself inside of the Earthsphere Alliance government). But since the Gundam pilots don't know each other, and a series of developments have arguably the best pilot (Heero Yuy) meet the daughter of the Vice Foreign Minister, and lose his Gundam to the enemy, let's just say that the first episode starts with a bang.

From there the series continues to give us more info about the personality and fighting style of each of the pilots. We also continue to get to know ace Oz pilot Zechs Marquise (and some of the people he considers friends and enemies). The last episode of the DVD treats us to a major revelatoin about the past of Relena Peacecraft (the Foreign Minister's daughter), and shows beyond any doubt (just in case we had any), that Oz is in fact evil.

From this first DVD you might get the impression that this show is going to fall into the old trap of having our heroes fight, get beat up, grow in resolve, and win. But giving up on this series after the first few epiodes would be a very big mistake indeed. In the next volume comes the first major plot twist. And let's just say that it can be mighty hard to figure out who your enemy is when the world situation keeps changing. This DVD is worth seeing for the end of the first episode alone (a true classic), but rest assured that this show gets much better later on. If you're a Gundam fan, definitely check this one out. If you're a Gundam Wing fan, what are you waiting for? Buy it now!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BEHHOLD!!! THE BEST CARTOON SERIES EVER!!!!
Review: Honestly,there is nothing like this anywhere in the world.It combines action,good voice acting deep characters,and yes,romance.But don't get me wrong, there's no kissing or junk like that.The characters are very deep.Not like with most shows where you figure out each charater in 5 seconds.The action is excellent and makes you come back for more.I'd reccomend it to kids 10 and up for violence and a complicated story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Gundam To Come Our Way
Review: When Cartoon Network began to air commercials for Gundam Wing ,many moons ago, I swore I'd never watch it. Then one fateful day I stop of the last ten minutes of the 15th episode and that was enough to make love this series. Gundam Wing in my opinion is the best Gundam series and is my favorite anime. The characters and plot line are all solid and superb. The action scenes are great and so are the mechas. Anyone who watches this series will love it. After all Cartoon Network didn't rerun at least three times for nothing.


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