Gundam Wing - Fanlore

Gundam Wing

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Name: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing/Gundam Wing
(新機動戦記ガンダムＷ[ウィング]
shin kidou senki gandamu W [uingu])
Abbreviation(s): GW
Creator: Sunrise Inc.
Date(s): April 7, 1995 – March 29, 1996
Medium: anime
Country of Origin: Japan
External Links: Wikipedia article
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Gundam Wing is the story of five young mecha pilots, and the bewildering web of alliances, betrayals, and battles they face over the course of the series.

Contents

The Fandom

The fandom is heavily centered around slash/yaoi pairings (the dominant pairing being Heero/Duo, or 1x2). Het and femslash pairings exist, but they are less common. The primary het pairing is Heero/Relena (or 1xR). Duo is the Little Black Dress of GW fandom.

Most of the characters have names based on numbers:

  • Heero is 1
  • Duo is 2
  • Trowa is 3
  • Quatre is 4
  • Wufei is 5

This numbering system includes the extended cast, as well--with the result that some fanfic headers look like complex mathematical equations to those unfamiliar with the fandom's naming conventions.

Fanon characterization was as important--and sometimes more important--to fans than the canon. Newer fanworks built upon pre-existing fanon. [1]

Pairings and Characters

Heero/Duo (1x2)

Trowa/Quatre (3x4)

Heero/Relena (1xR)

Relena Bashing

Relena is deeply intrigued by Heero, and develops strong feelings for him over the course of the series. Heero also cares for Relena (in his own unique way), although his interest in her can be read as either romantic or platonic. Because she is a potential threat to the Heero/Duo relationship, and is viewed as being useless and a "stalker," many fans dislike Relena.

Some of them dislike her strongly. Relena bashing was (and is?) common in the fandom. FanFiction.Net's search function finds several hundred stories based on the keywords "Relena bashing":


  • funny and lots of Relena bashing!!
  • RELENA BASHING TO THE EXTREME
  • Heero's favorite game!!Relena Bashing!!!
  • This is really funny!! Please read! Relena bashing....yay!!


While many fans dislike Relena, she also has passionate defenders. Some fans who initially disliked (and even bashed) Relena grew to appreciate her role in the series. Other fans were deeply impressed with the character from the beginning.


Relena's arc is one of the strongest character arcs in the series, and the fact that people dismiss her as a spoiled brat never fails to rankle me. [2]

Relena is awesome. She was one of the reasons I kept watching Wing back in the day. She truly is a strong woman, and neither rabid shippers nor people who think real women don't wear dresses/drive pink limos can stop that. [3]


Other Characters

  • Zechs is 6
  • Noin is 9
  • Lady Une is 11
  • Treize is 13

The other characters tend to be listed in pairings by initial or by name. 6x9, 13x11, and 13x5 are also fairly popular, frequently occurring as a B-plot in 1x2 and/or 3x4 stories. 5x2 and love triangle or OT3 stories involving Heero, Duo, and Wufei are also fairly common.

Fanon and Tropes

In canon, many of the primary characters don't meet until halfway through the series. AU fics where all five already work together as police, detectives, or other law enforcement/investigative personnel are common, especially stories where they have to go undercover at gay bars or BDSM clubs.[4]

The most stereotypical and oft-parodied variety of GW story features Duo being rejected by Heero (or dumped after a one night stand), going out to a bar, and being assaulted, causing Heero to realize that he really is in love with him after all. (Cue the magical healing cock!)

Official Art

Gundam Wing official art from art books and other similar sources tends to be somewhat... different from that found in the series itself. Most notorious is the "Wild Turkey" drawing of Zechs, but group shots of the five main pilots in school uniforms or military uniforms not featured in the series or dressed as members of a boy band are also common.


1) Gundam Wing official art can be full of so much wtfuckery that I think Bandai must have had a room full of blow for the artists[5]


Doujinshi

Once upon a time, Gundam Wing was quite a popular subject for doujinshi. Scans of many of these circulated in English-speaking fandom, sometimes in translated form.

Notable Works

  • Acherontia Atropos, Pyractomena Borealis, and Anax Tristis by Katsu

Resources

Gundam Wing Addiction

Gundanium Line

Lady Wing

Blissful Ignorance

Gundam Herald (newsletter)

Yahoo Groups

A vast number of pairing-specific yahoo groups used to exist.

Archives

  • A GW Love Affair ("A Heero +/x Trowa Shrine", defunct, used to be on geocities)

Notes

  1. ↑ Fandom and the (de)centrality of the text, by Branch. (Accessed April 19, 2009)
  2. ↑ deconcentrate on Halfamoon's Unpopular Woman Love Post. (Accessed April 19, 2009).
  3. ↑ sabordefresa on Halfamoon's Unpopular Woman Love Post. (Accessed April 19, 2009).
  4. ↑ gundam wing fandom, why do you hurt me? at the fanficrants livejournal community has some discussion of official art, AUs, and fanon, particularly in the comments section (Accessed May 22, 2009)
  5. ↑ ironpuncher2 on fanfic rants. (Accessed May 22, 2009).
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