Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, The Difference

[IkuzeMinna]

The difference between Gundam Wing and Gundam Seed is the badassness. The characters in Wing are so badass, it's sometimes hilarious. If I compare Seed's cast to them, I get a lukewarm vibe at best. Just think about it.

Quatre is the badass version of Kira. Both kind, gentle guys who don't like killing, yet fight to protect those dear to them. But I'd be way more afraid of Quatre than Kira when they go berserk on the battlefield. Plus, Quatre doesn't cry over killing his enemies. He apologizes and leaves it at that.

Wu Fei is the badass version of Yzak. Both angry jerk types, with a grudge against a certain character. But Wu Fei is a revenge-driven widower, whereas Yzak only has a scar to pay back. Also, Wu Fei is a scholar and martial arts expert. What's Yzak? (seriously, do we ever get info on him?)

Duo is the more badass counterpart to Mu. Both funny, likeable guys with amazing piloting skills and spatial awareness. But fighting so that no one else will have to is a lot more noble than fighting just because you can. That and 'God of Death' just sounds cooler than 'Hawk of Endymion'. Nevermind Deathscythe versus Strike.

Heero is a kindhearted assassin and Trowa a calm sniper. I can't think of anyone that matches this description in Seed. BIG loss of badass.

As for Relena, she's a badass pacifist with nerves of steel. Doesn't bat an eyelash when Heero rams Wing's shield into the ground not half a meter away from her. Cagalli screams her head off when Athrun tries to gut her.
And Lacus got it the wrong way round about her father's death. She steals a battleship first, then cries in Kira's arms. Relena cries first, then tries to put a bullet through Une's skull. Plus, Relena doesn't need a Gundam pilot to convince people. She does it herself.

As for others, well, Sally is the badass version of Murrue, both compassionate women who listen to their hearts and abandon the military to follow their sense of justice. Though if I had to choose a leader between the two, I'd definitely pick the woman who wrecked havoc on Earth and rammed Peacemillion into Libra. talk about women and parking
And Athrun is like a watered down version of Noin. Both play second fiddle, fight for a righteous cause, are conflicted due to fighting a friend/lover and watch over the rebellious princess. But despite the hideous cowboy outfit Noin still outclasses Athrun, mostly because of her demeanor. Both have authority but she knows how to use it. With style! Plus, when Noin slaps people, it works.
But perhaps the most obvious difference in badassness lies with the nameless grunts. In Seed they're either cannon fodder or bastards. The attack on Panama comes to mind. In Wing they're either cannon fodder or big damn heroes. Sacrificing your life to help out the people you're ordered to kill just because it's the right thing to do? Badass.



Now, before anyone skins me, relax. I'm only kidding. As people have already said, the two shows are almost completely different. So different in fact, that they're comparable again.
Wing is ideologic, based heavily on politics, told from the angle of extraordinary people. Seed is realistic, based heavily on ordinary characters and their struggle through a war. In Wing you have five kids that choose to be Gundam Pilots, and politicians that do not (Relena). In Seed it's the other way round; Kira Yamato is forced to pilot a Gundam while Lacus Clyne willingly acts as a public/political figure. In Seed the two big villains of opposing sides are evil bustards. In Wing they're actually good guys. In Wing the 'almighty' Gundams can't do a thing to change the world; it's the politicians that turn the tides (an ironic fact that a lot of people miss). In Seed, well, Three-Ships-Alliance anyone? As for characters, in Wing we have a trained assassin becoming human again, while in Seed we have a civilian becoming a soldier. And the rebellious princess in Wing is a pacifist while in Seed she/they take up arms. One thing that isn't different though is that interestingly enough many characters have similar backgrounds/experiences.
So in short, Seed is Wing, the other way round. And with less badassness.

And another thing I forgot: in Wing you can shave the characters bald and still tell them apart. Good luck doing that in Seed...

[rakusukira]

I love both shows but really, WING was 80% all about the machines.. I couldn't even understand the politics they had and whose side the heroes are since they are constantly against eachother.. (I was like WTF why is Wu Fei attacking Hero?!)

Seed had a blend of characters and story. You can see the pain that the characters are feeling being involved in a gruesome war between Coordinators and Naturals, who, set aside their genetics, are still human and are killing their humanity by killing eachother..

Kira vs Athrun was one of the most appealing conflicts in the series. A young civillian fighting against his bestfriend and his own people to protect the people that's important to him. Kira somehow proved that the people important to him need not be one of his kind.. but anyone he has had relations with or anyone who needs his help..

What I learned from this series? You cannot escape Fate..

Kira was created to become the ultimate killing machine to defend his kind but he escaped this fate when he was adopted by his relatives.. but even if he still lived a life as a civillian, he still became a part of the war and through it discovered who he really is..

this is why I pretend GSD didn't exist.. Shinn sucks big time

[Elo the Blue]

Originally Posted by rakusukira

I love both shows but really, WING was 80% all about the machines.. I couldn't even understand the politics they had and whose side the heroes are since they are constantly against eachother.. (I was like WTF why is Wu Fei attacking Hero?!)

If you didn't understand the plot so be it but saying GW was "80% all about the machines" is just ludicrous.

And the pilots were not "constantly against each other". Heero and Duo's first meeting, Quatre fighting Heero and Trowa in Wing Zero and Heero and Wufei's duel in Endless Waltz are the only examples of the pilots truly fighting one another.

Who was right or wrong is certainly debatable but the battle lines were pretty clear for the most part.

[IkuzeMinna]

Originally Posted by Elo the Blue

If you didn't understand the plot so be it but saying GW was "80% all about the machines" is just ludicrous.

And the pilots were not "constantly against each other". Heero and Duo's first meeting, Quatre fighting Heero and Trowa in Wing Zero and Heero and Wufei's duel in Endless Waltz are the only examples of the pilots truly fighting one another.

Who was right or wrong is certainly debatable but the battle lines were pretty clear for the most part.

Agreed. But I admit that not being able to keep up with the story might lead to some confusion as to who's on whose side. GW is 80% all about politics, so it's not surprising that if one can't follow the plot he'll end up asking himself just what the heck is going on and why e.g. Heero is suddenly fighting for Treize instead of trying to kill him. Add to that a lot of people having hidden agendas, being spies or simply being a Char and you have one wonderful mess to sort out.

In that aspect, Seed is a lot easier to follow because its story and characters are kept linear and, no offense, rather simple. The Archangel crew and Orb are the good guys and EA and ZAFT are the bad guys. And that's that. It doesn't change throughout the series. Plot-wise most of it is more or less the Archangel traveling from point A to point B without getting shot to pieces. Nothing too complicated there either.

That's not to say it has a bad story, it's just small-bore compared to Wing. But to each his own. I enjoyed both series by the way.
One thing though; I strongly recommend people rewatch Wing if their last time seeing it was on CN all those years ago before making claims. I'm tired of reading about 'invincible Gundams' and 'one-dimensional characters' just because they didn't pay enough attention when they were kids. Although there are some things that are completely off the hook, Wing generally makes a lot of sense. You just have to look for it.

Oh and Elo, there are two more instances. Quatre's and Trowa's first meeting and to some extent New Edwards. Duo was quite eager to pay Trowa back for those missiles he fired on him. Nevermind Zechs in his entirety.

[Elo the Blue]

Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna

Agreed. But I admit that not being able to keep up with the story might lead to some confusion as to who's on whose side. GW is 80% all about politics, so it's not surprising that if one can't follow the plot he'll end up asking himself just what the heck is going on and why e.g. Heero is suddenly fighting for Treize instead of trying to kill him. Add to that a lot of people having hidden agendas, being spies or simply being a Char and you have one wonderful mess to sort out.

In that aspect, Seed is a lot easier to follow because its story and characters are kept linear and, no offense, rather simple. The Archangel crew and Orb are the good guys and EA and ZAFT are the bad guys. And that's that. It doesn't change throughout the series. Plot-wise most of it is more or less the Archangel traveling from point A to point B without getting shot to pieces. Nothing too complicated there either.

That's not to say it has a bad story, it's just small-bore compared to Wing. But to each his own. I enjoyed both series by the way.
One thing though; I strongly recommend people rewatch Wing if their last time seeing it was on CN all those years ago before making claims. I'm tired of reading about 'invincible Gundams' and 'one-dimensional characters' just because they didn't pay enough attention when they were kids. Although there are some things that are completely off the hook, Wing generally makes a lot of sense. You just have to look for it.

Oh and Elo, there are two more instances. Quatre's and Trowa's first meeting and to some extent New Edwards. Duo was quite eager to pay Trowa back for those missiles he fired on him. Nevermind Zechs in his entirety.

You're right. I knew I was forgetting at least two other occasions but was too lazy to check when they occurred.

I didn't count Zechs because rakusukira wrote "heroes" when he/she mentioned allegiances seemingly constantly changing. While Zechs did some heroic things, I don't consider him a hero if we're just looking at the series.

I couldn't agree with you more on the false claims. The series is by no means perfect but some of elements people choose to bash it for as just exaggerations.

[IkuzeMinna]

Originally Posted by Elo the Blue

I didn't count Zechs because rakusukira wrote "heroes" when he/she mentioned allegiances seemingly constantly changing. While Zechs did some heroic things, I don't consider him a hero if we're just looking at the series.

Yeah, I know, that's why I didn't bother with anything past mentioning him. He's just the first one that comes to mind when someone mentions changing allegiances. Then again, 'heroes' could refer to anyone. Unlike in Seed, there's no clean-cut hero in Wing. While everyone has noble intentions the end doesn't necessarily justify the means.
But I won't delve into that since it's heavily dependent on personal opinion anyway. That and I guess rakusukira was only referring to the five pilots.

Originally Posted by Elo the Blue

I couldn't agree with you more on the false claims. The series is by no means perfect but some of elements people choose to bash it for as just exaggerations.

Heh, I'll give haters the weirdness that was Relena yelling from a cliff for Heero to come and kill her and the bore that were Zero's curb stomp battles against grunts. Those I can agree with. But I will not assent to people claiming Relena to be a stalking idiot with no leadership skills, Wu Fei to be a misogynist, the Gundams to be invincible or Treize to be almighty (especially politically).
That's simply not understanding the series.

[Elo the Blue]

Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna

Yeah, I know, that's why I didn't bother with anything past mentioning him. He's just the first one that comes to mind when someone mentions changing allegiances. Then again, 'heroes' could refer to anyone. Unlike in Seed, there's no clean-cut hero in Wing. While everyone has noble intentions the end doesn't necessarily justify the means.
But I won't delve into that since it's heavily dependent on personal opinion anyway. That and I guess rakusukira was only referring to the five pilots.

Agreed.

Heh, I'll give haters the weirdness that was Relena yelling from a cliff for Heero to come and kill her and the bore that were Zero's curb stomp battles against grunts. Those I can agree with. But I will not assent to people claiming Relena to be a stalking idiot with no leadership skills, Wu Fei to be a misogynist, the Gundams to be invincible or Treize to be almighty (especially politically).
That's simply not understanding the series.

Very well said. Honestly, as repetitive as they were, I actually enjoyed the battles but to each his own.

[MitsumiSaiko]

hello guys, i am knew to this forum site so please bear with me

I think the difference of GW and GSD is that the main plot of GW is the colonies want an independent government free from the United Earth Sphere Alliance. They send 5 pilots and their Gundams to earth with a specific mission: to immobilize the operation of OZ and as the plot expands it goes down to have a peaceful world.
While in the GSD, it is more or less a discrimination plot where Naturals discriminate "Special Humans". This discrimination lead to a war; and ultimately turns to a Good vs. Bad kind of battle which is not show on GW. I say this because all the factions have clear intentions and there principles have been shown clearly.

The next difference between the two is their military forces' way of adapting in the battlefield:

1. Lady Une device a plan to defeat the Gundams using only mass produced Mobile Suits (and she succeeded but was humiliated when Heero just pushed the Button. (But some fans out there will say because the Gundams in GW are just 1 level up than the Zakus, mind you normal fire power are useless against the Gundanium Alloy)

2. OZ built a mass-produced Mobile Suit in the codename of Taurus to counter the Gundams. The Military in GSD just rely on Gundam to defeat Gundam. Its like that they are just saying "we are sitting ducks out here when we don't have gundams".

3. And with the above mention Military forces in GW can easily defeat the Military forces in GSD because:
a. They can mass produce anti-Gundam Mobile Suits
b. They use their heads in the battlefield
c. They uses politics (diplomacy) not just war.

between the main characters of both series (i mean Heero and Kira), Heero wins overwhelmingly over Kira. And i say this because there is only one explanation:

Without Gundam, Heero is Heero; Without Gundam Kira is just a useless man/soldier.

If you really have a doubt, both two must duel in an MS fight without the Gundams in 2 rounds.
First round, duel both using Zaku-type MS.
Second round, duel both using Leo-type MS.hello guys, i am knew to this forum site so please bear with me

I think the difference of GW and GSD is that the main plot of GW is the colonies want an independent government free from the United Earth Sphere Alliance. They send 5 pilots and their Gundams to earth with a specific mission: to immobilize the operation of OZ and as the plot expands it goes down to have a peaceful world.
While in the GSD, it is more or less a discrimination plot where Naturals discriminate "Special Humans". This discrimination lead to a war; and ultimately turns to a Good vs. Bad kind of battle which is not show on GW. I say this because all the factions have clear intentions and there principles have been shown clearly.

The next difference between the two is their military forces' way of adapting in the battlefield:

1. Lady Une device a plan to defeat the Gundams using only mass produced Mobile Suits (and she succeeded but was humiliated when Heero just pushed the Button. (But some fans out there will say because the Gundams in GW are just 1 level up than the Zakus, mind you normal fire power are useless against the Gundanium Alloy)

2. OZ built a mass-produced Mobile Suit in the codename of Taurus to counter the Gundams. The Military in GSD just rely on Gundam to defeat Gundam. Its like that they are just saying "we are sitting ducks out here when we don't have gundams".

3. And with the above mention Military forces in GW can easily defeat the Military forces in GSD because:
a. They can mass produce anti-Gundam Mobile Suits
b. They use their heads in the battlefield
c. They uses politics (diplomacy) not just war.

between the main characters of both series (i mean Heero and Kira), Heero wins overwhelmingly over Kira. And i say this because there is only one explanation:

Without Gundam, Heero is Heero; Without Gundam Kira is just a useless man/soldier.

If you really have a doubt, both two must duel in an MS fight without the Gundams in 2 rounds.
First round, duel both using Zaku-type MS.
Second round, duel both using Leo-type MS.

[CynFinnegan]

The Gundams in Wing are constructed out of Gundanium alloy, hence the name Gundam.

You also have the ZERO and Epyon systems; two computer combat programs that can sense a pilot's insecurities and use them to literally rape the pilot's mind, as it did Quatre (so badly that he couldn't remember even writing it until he used it again), Hiiro, Duo and, to a certain extent, Trowa. The only one who avoided this was Wu Fei, who had no doubts about his mission.

And although the phrase is never used in the anime, several cast members, including all five pilots, are Newtypes: Quatre is an empath (he's the "heart of outer space"); Hiiro's ability is undefined, but Quatre refers to him in a fan dub of the last ep as the SOUL of outer space; as seen in "The Treize Assassination," Trowa has telepathy and some empathy (seen in "The Birth of Queen Relena"); Duo has premonitions and Wu Fei can sense if a person has evil in their heart. Lady Une and Relena are both projective empaths, but unlike Relena, who only uses it to get people to listen to her, Une can force people to see things her way. Zechs and Treize's Newtype abilities is undefined.

[Gundamx]

actually berserk Kira is a lot worse than berserk Quatre
(zero system not count since it's like drug)

about which is better -> most simple answer is who sell more dvd & gunbla?

you can like it or hate it, but by the end of day, money of mass of casual + audience target ---> the money of few hater/love something else

3- about world military power
GSD military power --->>> GW
they have requiem, GENESIS, many strong battleship and a lot bigger MS army with many type

and about Kira is weaker normal MS -> don't forget Kira is programmer = can easily make OS in middle of battle a lot better than normal to point it become cheating
+
airforce ace don't need to be marine ace

about anti-gundam
1-seed gundam have phase-shift so all physical attack = useless
2- seed have many MS and gundam type(astray, GTX..etc) that it's useless to think you can win just with mass produce anti-Gundam Mobile Suits
unlike GW which only have 5 gundams

numbers defeat courage even in gundam 00.
Answer? add more gundam
and in seed they have a lot of them to the point it's not funny
oh, and don't forget about destroy and freedom to clean trash units(grunts)
and since they are AI = Kira don't need to hold back

if there any problem it will be ace count in main serious
seed only have 2 main ace (Kira and Athrun)+ 4 sub ace(Yzakm Dearka, Mu and Cagalli) at the end unlike GW which have 5 main ace

though there is a lot more Ace in seed world(seed side story and Destiny)

so it won't be just 5 gundam with mass anti-gundam vs 2 gundams
but vs mass of Gundams + mass of ms, mass of space and sea battleship + 2-3 mass destruction weapons like requiem

don't to mention nuclear reactor without n-jammer = useless

edit: if you mean without anime MC than Seed world still win since like I said they have many gundam, ms, space and see battleship and mass destruction weapons

I guess it more like everyone here like wing so seed is worse than it in everything by default

[quagmire]

N-Jammers only stopped fission from occurring. The Gundams from Wing were powered by fusion nuclear reactors. So they would be unaffected by the N-Jammers.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Gundamx

actually berserk Kira is a lot worse than berserk Quatre

In terms of what?

[Rising Dragon]

"Berserk" Kira scarred up Yzak's face and dismantled the Savior Gundam. "Berserk" Quatre blew up entire fucking colonies. How the hell is Kira supposed to be worse here?

[Gundamx]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

"Berserk" Kira scarred up Yzak's face and dismantled the Savior Gundam. "Berserk" Quatre blew up entire fucking colonies. How the hell is Kira supposed to be worse here?

1-berserk by zero system same as berserk by drug
2- he just use strong weapon not skill
it's like saying because Djibril can push Requiem button which destroy colonies = so he must be equal with Quatre in fight

[monster]

Oh, so you're saying Kira's is worse because there's no active physical interference with his mind?

[Gundamx]

Originally Posted by monster

Oh, so you're saying Kira's is worse because there's no active physical interference with his mind?

drug can make you run faster -> does that make you better than runner who win without it in Olympics?

though even with drug you will still lose against Kira
(but we are talking whose berserk worse)

[IkuzeMinna]

Your bias is showing, bro.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

actually berserk Kira is a lot worse than berserk Quatre
(zero system not count since it's like drug)

Moot point. Quatre built Wing Zero instead of rebuilding Sandrock because he wanted the huge freaking gun to blow colonies to pieces. The ZERO System didn't make him do it. It was Quatre intention long before it was even constructed. Ergo, Quatre is a lot worse.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

about which is better -> most simple answer is who sell more dvd & gunpla?

you can like it or hate it, but by the end of day, money of mass of casual + audience target ---> the money of few hater/love something else

If you define "better" as "more successful" then agreed. Seed is definitely more successful.

Financial success is hardly a proper argument though as in the same vein Twilight also made a ton of money, yet no one would describe it as a good literary piece (quite the contrary, actually). There is good and then there is pandering. And money usually point to the latter.

Not saying Seed isn't good though.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

3- about world military power
GSD military power --->>> GW
they have requiem, GENESIS, many strong battleship and a lot bigger MS army with many type

...Are you deliberately ignoring Barge, Libra and the fact that Romefeller produced enough Mobile Dolls to run over half of Earth's countries? Besides, OZ was a world army. ZAFT is a militia and part of the PLANTs. There are definitely more soldiers running around in GW and thus, more MS.

As for variety making an army better: huh?

Originally Posted by Gundamx

and about Kira is weaker normal MS -> don't forget Kira is programmer = can easily make OS in middle of battle a lot better than normal to point it become cheating
+
airforce ace don't need to be marine ace

Unless he can program something that alters reality itself to actually make it cheating, Kira is going to be stuck with the maximum potential his MS has, so no, a ZAKU won't magically become stronger just because Kira rewrote the OS.
The rewriting the OS thing is only to aid Kira. He adjusts his suit to meet his needs. It's not his skill as a programmer that wins him his battles. It's his piloting skill, which he can bring out fully because he customizes his MS through his OS to suit him.

Every other pilot in the universes adjusts to their suit. So Kira has no advantage here.

If you put them in regular MS then logically every Wing pilot should hand Kira his butt, simply because they have way more and varied experience and have had much more extensive training than Kira ever did. Not just that, the Wing people are apt mechanics when need be, too. So they are more knowledgeable as well. Never mind their extra skills in terms of fencing, marksmanship and ridiculous piloting (I'm looking at your back flips, Trowa). Their battles were often much more challenging, too, as the default plan to destroy the Gundams in GW was to throw masses of MS at them. As far as I recall, Kira never had to face an entire base firing solely at him.

Kira has great potential but as he said himself, he isn't born better. He needs to learn the skills.

TL;DR The GW pilots are all Mary-Sues themselves so Kira doesn't really have an advantage because of his superior genes.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

1-seed gundam have phase-shift so all physical attack = useless

Phase-shift armor isn't eternal. It runs out of energy at some point.

Besides, everyone and his mom uses beam weapons, so another moot point.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

2- seed have many MS and gundam type(astray, GTX..etc) that it's useless to think you can win just with mass produce anti-Gundam Mobile Suits
unlike GW which only have 5 gundams

...Anti-Gundam suits? The Virgos were not designed to combat Gundams. They were simply meant to be superior suits because they were used to conquer Earth. When faced with Gundams, again, the default method was to defeat them through numerical advantage.

The Virgos are also better designed than anything Seed has to offer. They had perfect reaction times because they were AIs, didn't tire because again, AI, and they had maximum defensive and offensive capabilities with their shields and mounted cannon. The Gundam pilots could only defeat them in superior suits. So if you have such an effective suit... why do you need variation?

Originally Posted by Gundamx

if there any problem it will be ace count in main serious
seed only have 2 main ace (Kira and Athrun)+ 4 sub ace(Yzakm Dearka, Mu and Cagalli) at the end unlike GW which have 5 main ace

Oh, I wish Cagalli was an ace... What was done to that poor character is criminal.

Also, Noin, Zechs and Treize would like to have a word with you. MD Vayeate and MD Mercurius might, too.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

so it won't be just 5 gundam with mass anti-gundam vs 2 gundams
but vs mass of Gundams + mass of ms, mass of space and sea battleship + 2-3 mass destruction weapons like requiem

The mental picture of that mob is fun to imagine. Like, an army of Seed MS in front, then all the battleships and in the background Durandal and Zala sitting on Genesis and Requiem with a button in their hand to fire them.

And then Sally comes and rams Peacemillion into that mass, with that excited dude yelling all the while. Noin is filming the whole thing. Howard is not amused.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

don't to mention nuclear reactor without n-jammer = useless

Unless Kira is carrying a neutron jammer under his arm, why would not having N-Jammers equipped affect anyone??? Besides, fission =/= fusion.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

I guess it's more like everyone here likes wing so seed is worse than it in everything by default

Bro, you like Seed more so you tried to paint it as better than Wing by using some really weird arguments. Instead of saying a variety of suits makes the armies stronger, it would've been enough to say that there is more variety, thus making the series/battles more interesting. Or that Seed focuses more on the characters than Wing, so they feel more relatable. Or that people actually die in Seed, so it is more emotional.

On a personal note, I honestly don't see how more and bigger guns make anything better. There are countless of these discussions of which is better and people writing lists of what weapons show A has, so it is better than B because the weapons in show B can only destroy an entire spaceship whereas in A they destroy whole bases. Uh, so? Excessive power only make things more boring to me. I much prefer a smart character who can use the limited weapons he has effectively over the over-powered dude who can one-shot his opponents.

Originally Posted by Gundamx

drug can make you run faster -> does that make you better than runner who win without it in Olympics?

Uh, yes?