"But we like Char! He came first....!"

Being a Gundam Wing fan, and especially a Zechs fan, I've noticed the occasional bit of animosity from fans of the Universal Century Gundam saga. Please let me reassure you that us Wing/Zechs fans are not the ignorant slavering lot we've been labelled to be. After watching Gundam Wing and particularly after learning that it was actually a spinoff series, I was curious to find out more about what came before. While I'm not particularly enthralled by Mobile Suit Gundam, I'm aware of its history. This little series started the whole Gundam phenomenon back in 1979--which makes it older than Transformers, my first love in the animation world. Char Aznable is much older than Zechs Merquise and he obviously has a lot of fans. I personally just find Zechs to be a fresher, Nineties answer that appeals to me more. In all fairness, neither is better than the other because both of them have their own merits, just like the Universal Century and After Colony Gundam timelines each have their own merits. So don't rush to denounce us, and we'll repay the courtesy, ne?

The dude in the awesome Char costume above is Ryan, an attendee from AnimeNorth 2003 in Toronto, Canada. It's a shame the full-length photo didn't come out, he did a rocking job on his costume. Below on the left is another member of the Duchy of Zeon in an awesome costume, who simply went by Barks. On the right is a shot from Ohayocon 2004 in Columbus, Ohio; they let me pose, Zechs mask and all, next to their Zeon banner. (And yes, I know it's sideways...) Hey, it's all Gundam, it's all good!

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