Okawara Kunio, designer of the original Gundam for the first GUNDAM series, is once again responsible for creating the Gundams, but for WING he gives them a more super hero-esque appearance. This is shown in the bright circus troop paint schemes, and an arsenal that is more flashy than it is realistic, such as the Deathscythe's Beam Scissors and the Shen-Long's Dragon Fang. This emphasis of style over realism is a reflection of Wing's target audience—after all, most females and kids aren't as into that "military" design chic, and the stylized designs look neat enough to appeal to guys as well. (Not to mention the fact that to some viewers, anything was better than the goofy-looking mecha in G GUNDAM.)

To quote Mechanical Designer Izubuchi Yutaka (GUNDAM ZZ, CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK: "Give a mecha a face, and it becomes a character." This holds especially true for the Gundams in WING, who are just as much celebrities (if not more) as their pilots. Although Okawara deserves credit for designing the original that changed the face of giant robots, his designs tend to be somewhat stocky with regards to the body and limb proportions, and it shows in the original line art specs for Gundam Wing. It is a little-known fact that the original Gundam was designed to balance well as a plastic toy—apparently, Okawara hasn't broken the habit. Fortunately, GUNDAM WING seems to be a case where the mecha look better in action than they do on paper. Next: Faceless Minions