About Heero: Heero Yuy is probably the most important of all the Gundam pilots, and definitely the best. He is code named after the martyr of the space colonies, and has been trained for combat since, like, age 3. In battle, Heero is calm, calculating, unemotional, and efficient, earning the nickname "The Perfect Soldier". I have two more words to describe him- TRAINED ASSASSIN, but he only goes after the really, really bad guys. So why is Heero so great if he acts so, well, inhuman? In reality, Heero is very kind AND emotional. We don't see it too much in the beginning of the series, but as we get to know him better, we see that he tries to protect the innocent, often saving the various other Gundam pilots, not to mention Relena Peacecraft, from certain death. Okay, so he's a little suicidal sometimes, but it's not like he's sacrificing his life for no good reason. Basically, he believes that his only use in life is to fight and win, or die.
My Comments: I guess I like Heero pretty well, though he's not my favorite character. He is, however, the best pilot, and his skills are truly tested twice- once when he pilots the WingZERO and again when he pilots the Epyon, because both those suits have a control system that uses the pilot's brain impulses to guide his attack and make him just about invincible. Heero has a little trouble at first with both these suits, because the system takes over the pilot's conscious and makes everyone in his path appear to be an enemy. Heero's weak point is Relena Peacecraft. From the very beginning (literally) the two keep getting thrown together, and since she was the first person to figure out who and what he was, he kind of sees her as a threat to his mission and his personal safety (not that he really cares much about his personal safety). At the same time, he's attracted to her, in more ways than one, and saves her life at least five times, even though he keeps saying he's going to kill her. All in all, Heero's really a very cool guy.
About Duo: Duo Maxwell, the self-proclaimed Shinigami, is the second Gundam pilot we meet. He's the exact opposite of Heero- funny, cheerful, talkative. Duo really enjoys his work, often cracking jokes and commenting on EVERYTHING. He literally laughs in the face of Death, and is one of only two Gundam pilots who actually smiles. But don't let his happy-go-lucky demeanor fool you. Duo is as deadly on the battle field as Heero is (hence the nickname "The God of Death"). And, of course, who could forget that Duo's trademark physical characteristic is his long braid (if only we all could have hair that great) which has to measure at LEAST three feet in length. I saw somewhere that the braid is 32.5 cm, or something like that. Who measures these things anyway?
My Comments: Duo is definitely my favorite of the Gundam pilots, for several reasons. He's fun, skilled at fighting, and is probably the cutest out of the five (ahh, if only he were real... But could I handle a guy with better hair than me?). This might astound many people, but I actually think Duo and Heero are best friends (even though Duo shoots Heero not once but twice in the second episode), I mean as best of friends as anyone could get with Heero. For the first few episodes, they keep running into each other, taking turns saving the other's life, trying to one-up each other, finally teaming up. You would think that they really can't stand each other, but whenever Heero disappears, Duo, at some point, will start asking around about him when no one else will. Of course, he gets along with all the other pilots too. Plus, and I still don't quite get this, his attire of choice is black from head to foot, along with a priest's collar that I guess reinforces the God of Death thing. Did I mention he's my favorite?
About Trowa: Trowa Barton is the third Gundam pilot we meet, and is the most mysterious guy on the whole show. He's not a big talker, and when he does speak, just about everything he says is well thought out and deliberate. He doesn't seem to be a very emotional guy, rarely smiling (he does smile, sometimes, very little smiles that are almost imperceptable), and he only cries once that I know of, to his own surprise, I might add. However, in Episode13, he actually laughs out loud at something Heero says. Trowa seems to have an agenda all his own, at one point supposedly defecting to OZ, although we find out this is just a ruse to infiltrate OZ from the inside. After one battle, Trowa is thrown from his mobile suit and floats around in space for a while, eventually showing up again at one of the colonies with amnesia. His main course of action when it comes to battling OZ mobile suits is turning them into Swiss cheese with his Gundam's various weapons, and when he's not doing this, he's posing as the universe's most unemotional clown and an acrobat in a travelling circus. We're supposed to find out about his mysterious past in Endless Waltz, but I haven't seen that yet, and besides, I wouldn't spoil it for you anyway. :)
My Comments: Trowa's a good guy and he's pretty cool, but we just know so little about him, it's hard to form an opinion. However, after he gets amnesia, we see a totally different side of him- a scared, confused, and vulnerable guy. I think that because his anmesia wiped out all traces of the calm, deliberate soldier he used to be, his inner self comes out. Once you realize this and go back to watch earlier episodes, you can really see his inner struggle between his ruthless side and his caring side. As for his hair, well, I don't know what to say about that, except that I've seen a lot of anime and there are some, believe it or not, weirder hair styles than Trowa's.
About Quatre: Quatre Raberba Winner is the fourth Gundam pilot, and is probably the weakest. Not that he isn't a good pilot, but first of all, his Gundam was designed for land combat, not space combat so he's got a handicap whenever he has to fight in space, and, secondly, he hates killing and bloodshed, so his attacks are reluctant. Whenever he kills someone, he apologizes. However, you will notice that when it comes to fighting the pilotless Mobile Dolls, he's just as aggressive in battle as any of the other Gundam boys. Quatre is very smart, and is good at coming up with battle strategies. He's a very loving and caring person, the most emotional of the five pilots. He also seems to have some form of ESP- he has the ability to not only sense other people's physical and emotional pain, but also share it. His family is RICH and Quatre's the heir to the whole sheband, and he has a gang of servants and troops called the Maganac Corps that go into many battles with him to protect him. His father is a pacifist, and as such, Quatre is really going against his father's beliefs and wishes when he goes off to pilot the Gundam Sandrock. Quatre also has 29 older sisters, all test-tube babies. Quatre himself isn't a test-tube baby, but his family kept that from him so he wouldn't feel different from his sisters and so he wouldn't find out (according to his Episode Zero manga) that his mother died giving birth to him.
My Comments: Quatre is my favorite character after Duo. There's just something about a guy who isn't afraid to show his feelings. Some people think that Quatre's a cry-baby, but he really isn't. He only cries when something really devestating happens, like when his father dies, or the ZERO system messes with his head and he starts attacking colonies. He also gets misty-eyed when he finds out that Trowa is alive (see, the battle that Trowa got thrown from his suit in was between him, Heero, and Quatre, and Quatre was the one who fired on his mobile suit, causing it to explode). I see Quatre as the little brother of the series, the one that everyone seems to be looking out for, especially Trowa, who is definitely Quatre's best friend. Look at it this way- Trowa has no family at all that we know of, Quatre's the kid brother of 29 sisters. The bond that forms between them is like a surrogate brotherhood. Duo and Quatre seem to be pretty close too.
About Wufei: Chang Wufei is the fifth Gundam pilot, and the most disciplined. He comes from a long line of warriors, and has a huge sense of pride and honor. He's a solitary sort of guy, often going off to fight alone, and later, after the destruction of his home colony, he goes around, bringing his own brand of justice down on OZ. He's often referred to as the Solitary Dragon. Fitting, I think, since his Gundam has a built in flame thrower. I think he's the only one of the Gundam pilots who never really develops any sort of friendship with anyone else. He totally doesn't want to be dependent on anyone. He hates fighting enemies who are weaker than him, especially women, who he has a special scorn for, and he sometimes acts like he thinks he's invincible.
My Comments: You know, I honestly thought Wufei was a girl the first time I saw him. Don't ask me why, but imagine my surprise when I realized my mistake. Oops! I didn't like him at first because he was so standoffish and chauvenistic, but he's grown on me. I can kind of understand where he gets his opinions on women, considering the fact that his home colony is apparently all made up of men, and there is the element of (no offense intended, please don't flame me) his cultural background. But as I've watched Gundam Wing, I can see his honor and how he fights to protect what he believes in.
About Relena: Relena Peacecraft, the main female character of the series, is first introduced to us as Relena Darlian, the daughter of Ambassador Darlian, a representative of the Earth Sphere Alliance to the space colonies. Darlian is the target of an assassination, and just before he dies, he reveals to Relena that she is the daughter of the Peacecraft family, the ruling family of the pacifist Sanc Kingdom. After learning the truth about her birth, Relena starts to rebuild her life as the princess of the Sanc Kingdom, setting an example of pacifism for the Earth and the space colonies. She later becomes the Chief Representative of the Romefeller Foundation, aka Queen Relena. Relena is a very kind a friendly person who believes strongly in her ideals, and she's very attracted to Heero Yuy. She's also very stubborn and strong-willed, often getting herself into dangerous situations which Heero usually ends up rescuing her from.
My Comments: When I first started watching Gundam Wing, I wasn't sure what to make of Relena. Sometimes, she can be very virtuous and strong, and other times, she acts like a spoiled rich girl. Like Wufei, she had to grow on me, and I like her better now. The thing that's interesting about her is that when she changes her appearance from her school uniform and standard hair style, to her Sanc Kingdom attire, she looks like a totally different person. Relena is the first person to offer Heero friendship, probably showing him the first act of kindness in his whole life, and tries to understand just what he's all about.
About Zechs: Zechs Merquise appears to be one of the bad guys, and I suppose that he's the villain of the show. He is an ace pilot in the OZ mobile suit corp, called The Lightning Count, his skills at battle a match for Heero's (that's part of why they're kind of arch-enemies). However, Zechs is not all he appears to be. Behind that bird-like helmet is the face of Miliardo Peacecraft (yup, you guessed it, he's Relena's older brother), the heir to the throne of the Sanc Kingdom. It seems that his objective in joining OZ is to take revenge on the people that destroyed his boyhood home and murdered his father. However, he doesn't think he's worthy to rule the Sanc Kingdom, and therefore paves the way for Relena's rise to power. Being a rather patriotic guy, Zechs decides to sever his ties with OZ, and long-time friend Treize Khushrenada, when OZ starts threatening the Sanc Kingdom. He just can't say away from war, seeing it as the only road to lasting peace, and so he joins the colonies' revolutionary force, White Fang. Throughout the entire series, Zechs attempts to defeat the Gundams on some level, although he tries to form an alliance with them at one point to ensure the safety of the colonies, but Wufei sort of nips that idea in the bud when he picks a fight with Zechs.
My Comments: Zechs is a very mysterious character, the kind of villain who's really good at heart, the kind of guy you know you probably ought to hate but don't want to. I personally think it's too bad that the relationship between him and Relena isn't really developed, but it's cool the way he keeps himself informed about what's going on with Relena and the Sanc Kingdom.
About Treize: Treize Khushrenada is the high commander of the OZ Special Forces. This guy is an all around genius. He's a top notch military tactician, an persuasive public speaker, a skilled soldier, and a gentleman to boot. He starts out in the bad guy spotlight, like Zechs, but he's really not too bad of a person. He often has to remind Lady Une, the object of his affections, that overkill in battle isn't always a good idea. When the Alliance starts making decisions that he doesn't like or agree with, he decides that the best thing for everyone is for him to resign. He ends up being put under what boils down to house arrest, although there is a group within OZ called the Treize Faction which continues to fight for his ideals. When the White Fang threatens to attack Earth, Treize releaves Relena of her duties as the World Nation's sovereign, taking over the job for himself. He has a long standing feud with Wufei, who sees him as the ultimate evil in the universe.
My Comments: Like Zechs, Treize is the villain you know you ought to hate but don't really want to. He has this huge agenda, and even when he resigns from the Romefeller Foundation and is put under house arrest, he just sees it as an opportunity to gather more strength. He's very honorable, and he truly believes in his ideals. Plus, he's pretty handsome, and that never hurts when you're the dashing leader of OZ. No, seriously, he's a good villain.
About Une: Lady Une is a lieutenant colonel in the OZ Special Forces. Initially, she comes across as ruthless, calculating, and impulsive. She's the one responsible for the death of Relena's adoptive father. One word to describe her tactics- OVERKILL. After a close encounter with death, Lady Une turns over a new leaf, so to speak. She takes off her glasses and lets down her hair, becoming a kind, compassionate leader, not only acting but looking like a totally different person. However, when the situation calls for it, she puts her glasses back on and again becomes the ruthless Colonel Une. After a second brush with death which renders her comatose for a LONG time, the two personalities meld together to create a steel-spined yet kind-hearted character that is almost likable.
My Comments: I don't like Lady Une at ALL, even after she becomes a nicer person. For some reason, I get the impression that her glasses have the power to change her personality. Whenever she puts them on, she's callous; when she takes them off, even just a little bit, she turns nice again. Her split personality can make things confusing at times, but it keeps you wondering- is she going to be nice, or is she going to be mean?
About Noin: Lucrezia Noin starts out the series as an officer in the OZ Special Forces, being an ace pilot like Zechs. She's an instructor at a training base for OZ pilots. Later, sick of the fighting and war, she quits OZ and becomes an advisor and friend to Relena. She also leads the security force in the Sanc Kingdom. From the beginning of the series, you can tell that she has a crush on Zechs. Noin later becomes allied with the Gundam pilots and aids in their battles against the White Fang.
My Comments: I like Noin all right, but she's not in my list of favorites. She a very compassionate person, but when she's giving advice to Relena or Zechs, and when she's addressing the mobile suit pilots or any of the Gundam pilots, she sounds very unemotional and almost bored, like, "Okay, here's this thing I have to say and I'll just say it and get it over with." Not that I begrudge her the chance to speak, but she really sounds like she's reciting a speech she had to memorize.
About Dorothy: Dorothy Catalonia is the granddaughter of Duke Dermail, the leader of the Romefeller Foundation. She comes to Relena's school in the Sanc Kingdom, supposedly to help increase the Foundation's understanding of the Sanc Kingdom's pacifistic policies. Dorothy claims to be a great admirer of Relena, always popping up whenever Relena needs to make an important decision, and pushes for an armed defense of the Sanc Kingdom. Dorothy LOVES war, and sees it as the only road to peace. She later joins White Fang and becomes the controller of the mobile dolls.
My Comments: In my opinion, Dorothy is the most annoying character on the series, and I can't stand her. I can understand why Relena always seemed so impatient with her. I personally would've kicked her out of the Sanc Kingdom by the end of her first day there! At the end of the series, she sort of starts to realize that her beliefs about the beauty of war might not be quite, how shall we say, accurate.
About Sally: Sally Po was originally an officer in the Earth Sphere Alliance's medical corps, which is how she meets Heero, but she quit early on. She has a great interest in the Gundams, particularly Heero and Wufei. After leaving the Alliance, she goes to the former China, where I believe she grew up, to fight in a guerrilla war against the oppressive government there. It's there that she meets Wufei and attempts to make him understand that weakness doesn't equal passivity. After the Gundam pilots head out ot space, she decides to retrieve and repair the suits left behind (namely the Wing and the Sandrock). While doing this, she runs into Noin and the two form a friendly alliance. Like Noin, she later helps the Gundams in their battles against the White Fang.
My Comments: I don't know much about Sally, but I like her. She's very headstrong, like some of the other female characters on the show. She doesn't back down from a challenge, and she fights for what she believes to be just and honorable. She's one of those never-give-up-no-matter-what people, and she's almost as cheerful as Duo, though she can be just as tough and steel-spined as any of the Gundam pilots any day.
About Catherine: Catherine Bloom works as a performer in the circus where Trowa hides out between missions, often performing by throwing knives at the Gundam pilot. She's a very kind person who sees Trowa as a brother (so she says) and hates when he leaves the circus to go fight in a battle. She's the one who finds him after he gets amnesia, and she tries to keep him from going back out to fight again, to no avail.
My Comments: I like Catherine most of the time, but on occasion I think she's being selfish when it comes to Trowa. I mean, she doesn't understand that he's fighting to protect the colonies, which is where she lives. She says she cares about Trowa like a brother, but I honestly think it's more than that, and I really wouldn't be surprised if the same went for Trowa. I've seen sites that say that Catherine really IS Trowa's sister, and his Episode Zero seems to support that. The secret is supposed to be revealed in Endless Walts, but I haven't seen that yet.
About Hilde: Hilde is friends with Duo. During the OZ invasion of the colonies, Hilde signs up to be a pilot, a job which she later leaves. She meets Duo when he steals a mobile suit from her OZ unit in order to get to the moon. After he saves her life, she helps him make it safely to the moon, and after the destruction of the lunar base, they end up living at the same colony. I don't know if they live together, that's up for interpretation. Her attachment to Duo is very strong (I don't want to say it's a romantic attachment because I really don't see it as such), and she risks her life to get vital information about the White Fang's battle ship, Libra, in order to help Duo and the rest of the Gundams defeat it.
My Comments: Hilde doesn't really have a lot of screen time. I think she's only in five or six episodes, if that. Therefore, it's hard to get a good idea of who she is. Basically, I think she's very headstrong and sometimes reckless, and it seems sometimes like she's chasing after Duo to prove that she can be helpful to him, or something. I can't say that I like her, persay, but she's an okay character.
There are five scientists responsible for creating the Gundams and training the pilots. They are: