More or less. Gundam has always been stuck in somewhat of a standard equation limbo. Gundam Wing was unique in the fact that it siphoned out something from nearly all of the previous series in order to make something of an "introductory" Gundam series for the new era. To the producers, the show's purpose and function wasn't all that different from Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, but with an astronomicly better reception. It took the flashy mecha concept from G Gundam and introduced five-heroes-against-the-odds in order to help it appeal to younger boys. Also, no good guys of any consequence die--which is a logical step to take if you don't want the young fanbase to have a sour memory of the show. All of these factors make it seem kind of silly in comparison to the more gritty and tragic Gundam prediscors.Originally Posted by Kawaii Ryűkishi
The teenage girl appeal you mentioned did manage to annoy me. To keep the girls guessing as to "who is paired with whom," any romantic relationships are left on the implied level. As a result of that, characters ended up having shaky motivations and no two characters ever intereacted with eachother on anything higher than a buddy/buddy, respect/respected, or command/commanding level. That was pretty detrimental.
Even though they'll never admit it, or even realize it for themselves, UC Gundam fans only bash Wing because they are sore towards the fact that it has such a rabid Engish fanbase while the other timelines (save for SEED and sometimes G) didn't catch on. It's completely understandable that they didn't. They tried to air the Original Gundam on Cartoon Network a few years ago, and I can only imagine the expression on a kid's face when they see disproportionate 70's animation onscreen instead of Goku glowing in all shades.
Still, Wing bashers simply love to capitalize and overexagerate Wing's more shallow qualities in order to make the original sound like some sort of infalable masterpiece. But they're just bitter. Gundam Wing's a good show.
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