Copyright © 1995 Sunrise / SOTSU Agency - ANB

For mobile suit veterans and interested neophytes, be sure to check out EX 5.3's GUNDAM WING feature, as well as our review of the 1st GUNDAM WING DVD in EX 5.4. This article is a quick look at the second volume.
This DVD of GUNDAM WING contains the next five unedited episodes (#6-10), and now I feel the series is starting to get into its stride. The continuous plot is moving forward fast, starting with Relena and her father visiting the moon once more for important diplomatic talks. The events that unfold reveal to Relena some startling secrets. The Gundams continue their guerrilla war against OZ, but now OZ is starting to fight back and set their own global plans into action. Plus, we learn a bit more about the aloof Heero and the other Gundam pilots.
Analyzing the plot and story, I see two sides to GUNDAM WING. One is the toy and target audience element, which takes a notch off the believability of it all. The Gundams themselves certainly show off their action figure and model roots, and young pilots with great responsibilities sounds like many a child's dream come true. This, along with the clichéd situations like hand-to-hand duels, the far too poorly guarded bases and many other elements, hurt my more jaded suspension of disbelief.
On the other hand, though, there are many points that remind me why I am into anime in the first place. Continuous plotlines, well rounded "enemies" that are not all black and white bad guys, politics, stylish combat, fallible heroes and more. Not to mention, it is amazing how many people actually are shown being killed in the progress of this war. The Gundam series has always tried to show the darker side of war, and GUNDAM WING is building up to be no exception.
The original TV production values show through with the use of repeated scenes and lightly detailed backgrounds, but the character consistency and animation is still good. The video transfer on this dual layered DVD is truly gorgeous on my setup, being very clean with few noticeable artifacts.
DVD menu-wise I felt the "inside" of a mobile suit theme to be cluttered and impractical, since I have been spoiled on fast but stylish interfaces like the menu for TRIGUN. The standard options are there, from language settings to a selection of Bandai previews (including new ones like ANGEL LINKS and JUBEI-CHAN) plus some very brief biographies of a couple of GUNDAM WING characters.
So looking at GUNDAM WING overall, do I like it? Yes. Are there problems with it? Sure, of course. It will not win my award for best Gundam series (0083 still holds that distinction for me), but I felt entertained and I plan to watch the rest of this series myself. If you liked the first volume, keep on going. But for those still collecting VHS, this is another good example of DVD's better value and quality with more episodes plus your choice of sub or dub.

Released in North America by Bandai Entertainment
DVD
English dubbed/Japanese subtitled
125 minutes, Catalog No. 1671, $24.98
Available now in the U.S.A.
Where to buy