I was one of those children who watched Gundam Wing as a boy on Cartoon Network in the afternoon and so I had a lot of nostalgia for it; more than any other show. Rewatching it in the late 2000s I still liked it and the same in the 2010s but not as much.
In 2020 I rewatched the first third of it again and in 2021 got to episode 39 I think before giving up.
One of the things I find annoying about people's judgement of works is to compare their experience of something as a child to how they experienced something else as an adult and so for example boomers loved the original Star Wars trilogy as children and teenagers desperate for an escape from the harsh reality of daily life in the late 70s and early 80s (well VI came out in the late 80s which weren't as bad) but didn't like the prequels as adults. They take their experience of the originals as young people, let's say 8, the actual quality of the prequels, 5, 5 - 8 = -3 so the prequels were terrible. The reality is that as adults we have higher standards; things didn't get worse, we got more intelligent and less easy to please and rightfully so. That's what nostalgia boils down to; things seemed better when we knew less.
The point is that people unfairly think then that because Wing is far less good than people remember it that that means it's a bad show that people only liked because they were so young when it came out (in my case 8). The reality is it started off well; the first 1/3 were excellent but after that it wasn't as good (the director had to leave because of schedueling conflicts).
The animation is subpar and Treize (with his machiavellian, nietzschean ways) and Wufei I find very annoying (his misogynistic attitude and constant talking about strength sounds more like a parody of the manosphere than a character in a serious show) but Heero, Trowa and Duo are quite likable and the wings of a boy who killed adolescence is an excellent song, if only the opening and ending themes were as good. As for the plot with its setting of a small group of rich white people out to control everything and a small group of guerillas (would Americans stop branding everyone who uses guerilla tactics a terrorist? There is no difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter; it's all about whose side whoever brands someone such is on.) out to stop them but who eventually end up bringing peace to the Earth sphere even after their fellow colonymen sell them out the show seems to be the most left wing idealist of the Gundam works, certainly the ones I've seen anyway (interestingly Japan had one of its few left wing governments when Wing came out).
For people wanting to get into Gundam or just wondering what all of the hype is about I would recommend watching them in order; 0079 first, then Zeta etc. And as for Wing to go into it with equanimity. Don't expect it to be as good as millenialls remembered it from our childhoods nor as bad as its critics say (of course the Gundams are far more powerful than other suits; they're made from the strongest material in that universe; don't let your liking of the UC Gundam shows stop you from watching Wing on its own terms).
In 2020 I rewatched the first third of it again and in 2021 got to episode 39 I think before giving up.
One of the things I find annoying about people's judgement of works is to compare their experience of something as a child to how they experienced something else as an adult and so for example boomers loved the original Star Wars trilogy as children and teenagers desperate for an escape from the harsh reality of daily life in the late 70s and early 80s (well VI came out in the late 80s which weren't as bad) but didn't like the prequels as adults. They take their experience of the originals as young people, let's say 8, the actual quality of the prequels, 5, 5 - 8 = -3 so the prequels were terrible. The reality is that as adults we have higher standards; things didn't get worse, we got more intelligent and less easy to please and rightfully so. That's what nostalgia boils down to; things seemed better when we knew less.
The point is that people unfairly think then that because Wing is far less good than people remember it that that means it's a bad show that people only liked because they were so young when it came out (in my case 8). The reality is it started off well; the first 1/3 were excellent but after that it wasn't as good (the director had to leave because of schedueling conflicts).
The animation is subpar and Treize (with his machiavellian, nietzschean ways) and Wufei I find very annoying (his misogynistic attitude and constant talking about strength sounds more like a parody of the manosphere than a character in a serious show) but Heero, Trowa and Duo are quite likable and the wings of a boy who killed adolescence is an excellent song, if only the opening and ending themes were as good. As for the plot with its setting of a small group of rich white people out to control everything and a small group of guerillas (would Americans stop branding everyone who uses guerilla tactics a terrorist? There is no difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter; it's all about whose side whoever brands someone such is on.) out to stop them but who eventually end up bringing peace to the Earth sphere even after their fellow colonymen sell them out the show seems to be the most left wing idealist of the Gundam works, certainly the ones I've seen anyway (interestingly Japan had one of its few left wing governments when Wing came out).
For people wanting to get into Gundam or just wondering what all of the hype is about I would recommend watching them in order; 0079 first, then Zeta etc. And as for Wing to go into it with equanimity. Don't expect it to be as good as millenialls remembered it from our childhoods nor as bad as its critics say (of course the Gundams are far more powerful than other suits; they're made from the strongest material in that universe; don't let your liking of the UC Gundam shows stop you from watching Wing on its own terms).