Gundam Wing: It's beyond the bishounens...
By: Shadow Chaser

I know, I was supposed to write about torturing favorite characters, but I decided to write this since I'm actually on a writing streak for Retaliation. ^_^ Yay! Go me! Go Haldir!

Initially, when I saw Gundam Wing on Cartoon Network's Toonami on March 6, 2000, I was intrigued. Not only was a robot-anime, they also had five very cute boys, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. Nice, nice, I thought. I was only a sophomore in high school then, failing Geometry, and basically not knowing what the world was really like. I didn't really care for the political intrigue in Gundam Wing, I only cared for the fact that the plot was interesting and that the Gundam were wicked cool!

I started to write fanfics for Gundam Wing, even before I saw Endless Waltz or finished watching the series' first run end on Toonami. I loved the characters and thought I had a good grasp of how they acted. How very wrong I was.

Now, three years since my infatuation with Gundam Wing, I'm still writing a GW story, titled Retaliation. But instead of my naievity (sp), I have a better understanding and grasp on what Gundam Wing is all about. It's not just the surface bishounens that dominate the series, nor is it the Gundams themselves, but it's the political intrigue all underneath.

I recently re-watched a few critical episodes of GW just to get myself in a refresher course for Retaliation as I hadn't written in it since last year - since I fell out of the GW craze-phase. Now I understand what politcs has such an importance in it, and why many people love it, not only for the pilots themselves, but for the intrigue inside of it. I understand now that GW has a deeper meaning that only with experience of the political world, do people get it.

Now, as a freshman in college and with a better understanding of politics, I can re-watch and fall back in love with Gundam Wing, this time from a newer perspective. And so, I give you "Retaliation", the final chapter in my After War Quartet, and probably one of the best political-influenced fanfiction I've ever written.

Cheers and enjoy peoples! Oh and by the way, Quatre's still mine! Mine forever! ^_^

-Shadow Chaser signing off... ^_^x
posted by Shadow Chaser at 2:07 PM