Gundam Wing is a part of a much larger and much older franchise-----one that has been around for almost two decades that has racked up more than 140 hours of animation and story in that time! Before Wing, most Gundam stories occurred in the "Universal Century": a futures that uses a new calendar; a future whose population is shakily taking the next step in evolution; a future which wars are fought with radical new weapons called mobile suits.

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, the "classic" Mobile Suit Gundam setting (the Universal Century) follows the struggle between Earth's repressive Federation and the semifascist rebels of Earth's orbiting space colonies. The mobile suits used in this ongoing struggle have become the standard by which all other animes' mecha are judged, since Gundam was the first story to treat giant robots as mass-produces military weapons rather than as the alter egos of alien-busting superheroes. (The hero's mobile suit is always an extra-special suit whose name is some variant on "Gundam")

However, creator Tomino has always been primarily interested in his characters, and this is what has given this franchise so much life. The many characters of the Gundam world are among the most memorable of any anime. The trouble is, expecting fans (especially newer, younger ones) to keep track of 15-odd years of characters and story background is too much to ask.

In a wise move---if initially unpopular, at least with longtime fans----

Gundam's parent company, the toy giant Bandai (at least since Bandai acquired Sunrise, the studio that's produced all Gundam animation to date.), decided to let their creators take a crack at the Gundam idea, with the intent of translating the "spirit" of the franchise into new, stand-alone, easily accessible stories. In addition, these new improved stories would allow Bandai to expand its tremendously profitable line of plastic mobile-suit model kits by featuring several Gundams in a single series. The first creator to take up the challenge was Yasuhiro Imagawa, of Giant Robo fame, but his G Gundam series, altough a strong seller of model kits and toys, was considered by many to be too much of a departure from traditional lore.

The next man to try and reinvent Gundam was Masashi Ikeda. His efforts were met with tremendous fan approval. Gundam Wing was a gigant hit.

Set in the years of the "After Colony"(AC) future calendar system,

Gundam Wing is a complex tale of human drama, intricate politics, and savage combat. In these ways, it definitely maintains the spirit of the original Gundam series.

The political background of Wing is extremely complex and not at all easy to understand from watching the first several episodes. The situation is as follows: The Earth Sphere Alliance has united the planet's nations and guided program of space colonization, so that numerous toroidal space stations are now clustered at Earth's geostationary Lagrance Points. The future was looking bright, but now militaristic interests have corrupted the Earth's Sphere Alliance. It has crushed the rights of individual countries (such as the pacifists Cinq Kingdom) and is now paranoically oppressing its colonies.

To make matters worse, Treize Khushrenada, the leader of the Alliance's elite forces (the Specials) has founded a secret society with which he intends to take over the Alliance and achieve his own egocentric dreams. The core of Treize's secret society is OZ (the "Organization of Zodiac"), the concern that produces all of the Alliance's mobile suits. Its backers are the greedy and manipulative Romefeller Foundation, and once OZS has taken over the Alliance, the goals of the Foundation and of Treize no longer mesh.

In AC 195, the five main colony clusters begin Operation Meteor.

This plan involves sending five prototype mobile suits to Earth to perform terrorist attacks against the Alliance in general and OZ in particular. Each of these super-powerful mobile suits is made of the nigh-indestructible alloy Gundanium, and so each one is called a Gundam. The five Gundam pilots are all very young (15 years old; 16 after Endless Waltz. But that's another story), incredibly skillful, and utterly ruthless (exception for Quatre who always says he's sorry after assassinating somebody.) Though they are invincible in battle, the five "GW" boys are trapped in a dangerous game. They know little about their own missions, less about their enemies, and nothing at ALL about each other.

Over the course of the Wing's story, the five "GW" pilots gradually make contact, alternately allying or dueling with each other between destructive mission and guarded liaisons with Earth's varied peoples. These five boys, as well as their friends and enemies, maintain the Gundam tradition of putting characters first. Each and every member of the cast is fascinating (if not downright bizarre), and by making the story's stars handsome complex young men, Ikeda actually expanded Gundam's appeal by drawing in a new audience of teenage girls.

However, boys liked Gundam Wing too. With five (count 'em!) unstoppable, unique, and outrageous-looking Gundams, plus an army of believable, mass produced, realistic-looking OZ mobile suits, Wing has more than enough giant-robot mayhem to keep even the most jaded mechahead happy. And with the second season right around the corner (Endless Waltz; TOLD YA!) fans can look forward to a whole new pack of mobile suits, including redesigned versions of the Gundams!

By: Kitty =^-^= Just Kidding! I got this from Animerica! Its a really cool magazine! With tons of info.!