In the distant future, Mankind has colonized space, with clusters of space colonies at each of the five Earth-Moon Lagrange points. Down on the Earth, the nations have come together to form the United Earth Sphere Alliance. This Alliance oppresses the colonies with its vast military might. The colonies wishing to be free, joined in a movement headed by the pacifist Heero Yuy.
In the year After Colony 175, Yuy is shot dead by an assassin, forcing the colonies to search for other paths to peace. The assassination prompts five disaffected scientists from the Organization of the Zodiac, more commonly referred to as OZ, to turn rogue upon the completion of the mobile suit prototype Tallgeese.
The story of Gundam Wing begins in the year After Colony 195, with the start of "Operation Meteor": the scientists' plan for revenge against OZ. The operation involves five teenage boys, who have each been chosen and trained by each of the five scientists, then sent to Earth independently in extremely advanced mobile suits (one designed by each of the scientists) known as "Gundams" (called such because they are constructed from a rare and astonishingly durable material called Gundanium alloy, which can only be created in outer space). Each Gundam is sent from a different colony, and the pilots are initially unaware of each other's existence.
The series focuses primarily on the five Gundam pilots: Heero Yuy (an alias, not to be confused with the martyred pacifist), Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner and Chang Wufei. Their mission is to use their Gundams to attack OZ directly, to rid the Alliance of its weapons, and to free the colonies from its oppressive rule. The series also focuses on Relena Peacecraft, heir to the pacifist Sanc Kingdom, who becomes an important political ally to the Gundam pilots (particularly Heero) throughout the series. In addition to these six heroic and antiheroic characters, the series makes use of a large supporting cast of protagonists and antagonists with complex, interconnected storylines.
The making of Gundam Wing was influenced by Mobile Fighter G Gundam with the idea of having five main characters. Originally, the series was meant to be titled Gundam Meteor after "Operation Meteor." Bandai suggested having a Gundam with the ability of transforming into a plane-like form (which led to the creation of the Wing Gundam and its "Bird Mode"). The writers worked together for one week conceptualizing the characters, mobile suits and first 40 episodes. Director Masashi Ikeda reacted to their work comparing it to the first Gundam series, Zeta and G all at once.[2] The series was more focused on drama than mecha, which the staff credits as one of the reasons for the show's popularity within the female demographic.
Writer Katsuyuki Sumizawa expressed difficulties in the making of the story as opposed to his work in novels due to the fact he relayed duties to other members. However, the handling of the five characters was made easy due to the setting.[2] Early sketches of the protagonists by Ikeda were handled by character designer Shūkō Murase. He was cast due to his work with Ikeda in Samurai Troopers. The director wanted the designs to appeal to the female demographic. Originally, Duo Maxwell was set as the protagonist but was replaced by Heero Yuy. The staff members noted Heero was too different from previous Gundam protagonists and were afraid he would be unpopular. The voice casting was more difficult to do than the ones from previous series due to the different atmosphere.[2]
Following the series' ending, the staff members were asked by the studio to make a sequel due to its popularity. Neither Ikeda nor executive producer Hideyuki Tomioka intended to make a sequel for Gundam Wing. However, Sumizawa was bothered by the finale as he felt the series ended abruptly. Tomioka asked Sumizawa if he could write a continuation, which he agreed to do.[2]
Gundam Wing was not the first series in the Gundam franchise to be dubbed and distributed in the U.S. (the compilation film version of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, as well as the OVAs War in the Pocket and Stardust Memory, preceded it by about two years), but it is well known as the first Gundam series to be aired on American television. This dub was licensed by Sunrise and the voice work was done by Ocean Productions.[3] The series aired on Cartoon Network's weekday afternoon after-school programming block Toonami, premiering on March 6, 2000. In the first extended promo leading up to the series' premiere, voice actor Peter Cullen narrated the back story, evoking memories of Voltron's opening credits. The promo was said to be so riveting that Bandai decided to use it as the official promo for the series.[4] Gundam Wing was a huge ratings winner for Toonami (often outperforming veteran series such as Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon) and became, for a time, not only the highest rated series on Toonami but on all of Cartoon Network.[5]
The leader of the Specials (aka OZ) and the primary Anti-Hero of Gundam Wing. Treize was born into privilege as a nephew of the Dermail family. He is a charismatic leader with a strong sense of ideals and an understanding of human nature that give him a devoted following among the men who serve him. According to the Episode Zero manga, he was originally a piloting instructor that was injured in a battle on colony X-18999 and met nurse Leia Barton at her father Dekim's hospital. They formed a bond based on mutual respect which is believed to have produced a daughter (Mariemaia). After General Catalonia's death, Treize was promoted to the leader of the Specials. He was close friends with Zechs Merquise and one of the few people to know Zechs' true identity. Treize's traditional views on combat and honor led to his opposition to the Romefeller Foundation, which was beginning to develop automated mobile doll weapons. He opposed this because he was a firm believer in tradition and honor, and felt that mobile dolls would make humans unnecessary in battle and therefore make warfare meaningless. His departure from the Foundation caused a similarly minded part of OZ to split into what was known as the Treize Faction. Though placed under house arrest, Treize was eventually freed by loyalists and took over the leadership of the World Nation. He piloted the OZ-00MS2 Tallgeese II during this time. He met his end in battle against Chang Wufei, apparently of his own volition. Treize was also an accomplished mobile suit designer as he created both the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon and the OZ-00MS2B Tallgeese III. Treize Khushrenada was given voice by Ryoutarou Okiayu in Japanese and David Kaye in English.[18]