| Heero Yuy | |
|---|---|
| Mobile Suit Gundam Wing character | |
| File:Gunthumb1 lg heero.jpg Heero Yuy in Gundam Wing | |
| First appearance | Gundam Wing episode 1 |
| Voiced by | Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese) Mark Hildreth (English) |
Appearances
editThe protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, and the pilot of the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam and the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero. During the series, very little of his past is revealed, although according to the manga Episode Zero revealed that he was once a nameless protégé of the assassin Odin Lowe until the assassin's death during a failed mission. Shortly thereafter, the nameless boy (Heero) was taken in by Doctor J and trained as a Gundam pilot. On the onset of Operation Meteor, Doctor J gave him the code name "Heero Yuy" after the martyred leader of the colonies. Although he speaks in a monotone voice and appears cold, reckless and emotionless, some believe that Heero is actually a very kind-hearted young man who feels sympathy for the oppressed space colony citizens. Though his true feelings for Relena are never fully explained, he has vowed to protect her from any danger (even though, ironically enough, he originally threatened to kill her when she learned of his mission).
Character creation
editHeero was originally set to be a supporting character with Duo Maxwell having been conceived as the protagonist. However, the staff changed them and Heero became the protagonist. Writer Katsuyuki Sumizawa and producer Hideyuki Tomioka mentioned that Heero was different from previous Gundam protagonists who started the series as immature and grew up across the episodes. They believed Heero would not be too popular due to his cold stare but in the end they realized such trait made him a popular character. His design was modeled after on Japanese actress Yuki Uchida. In the early phases of the series' making, Heero's iconic costume was already designed.[1] Heero's relationship with Relena Peacecraft represented the character's appreciation for Earth.[2]
In Japanese Heero is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa. Sumizawa and Ikeda were impressed with several of Midorikawa's lines that gave them a big impact. During the series, Sumizawa had the idea of making Heero self-destruct his Gundam giving the impression he dies even though he believes killing a protagonist early in the series is impossible. Sunrise's Masashi Ikeda liked it and told the writer to do it. Once Sumizawa wrote it he thought to himself "Heero's dead for real this time, isn't he?" and was worried when seeing the scene. Writing the series was difficult due to the handling of the five main characters as a group. As they would act selfish when being together, the self-destruct scene was made to change that. [1]
Reception
editHeero has received mixed response by publications from manga and anime. THEM Anime Reviews referred to him as "one of the most deranged psychopaths ever to star in any anime series" comparing him with the characters from War of the Roses due to his antisocial personality.[3] Mike Toole from Anime Jump criticized Heero calling him a "grumbling psychopath" and comparing him with Mobile Suit Gundam's protagonist Amuro Ray negatitvely.[4]
In the book "Queer Popular Culture: Literature, Media, Film, and Television", author Thomas Peele mentioned that Heero's character was very popular in dōjinshi where authors tend to despict romantic relationship between him and the other protagonists.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "５体のガンダムから始まった「ガンダムＷ」の企画" (in Japanese). Gundam W. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ^ (Animerica, May Issue, 2000
- ^ "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ^ "Gundam Wing". Anime Jump. October 16, 2003. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ^ Peele, Thomas (2007). Queer Popular Culture: Literature, Media, Film, and Television. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 187-190. ISBN 978-1403974907.