Episode
                  38: Relena Becomes Queen 
                  Airing Date
                  2000-04-26

            Anime is revered for several reasons. The images are often 
            startling, the storylines complex, the action intense and the 
            characters are drawn in three-dimensional strokes. Add an 
            often-mythological foundation and deep back stories and it's easy to 
            see how someone could get hooked for life after viewing their first 
            show. What's unfortunate, though (at least in the English versions) 
            are the wooden lines the characters spout every few minutes. 
            Lines like, "We all must sacrifice our lives for the sake of 
            worldwide peace" or "Why are we fighting this useless battle in 
            outer space when we share a common enemy?" would choke any actor, 
            yet they're standard fare for quality shows like Gundam Wing. It's a 
            shame that top-notch writers -- or perhaps quality translators -- 
            aren't employed to bring the dialogue up to the level of the rest of 
            the production. Okay, speech over. Let's get to the good stuff, 
            shall we? 
            Things begin where they left off, with the battle in outer space 
            between the Alliance and the members of the newly-formed White Fang. 
            Chang Wufei has begun attacking anyone with a weapon -- not just 
            Romefeller's Mobile Dolls but White Fang members, too. Believing 
            that anyone with a weapon has the potential to punish the weak, 
            Chang orders both sides to discard their arms. 
            Lucrezia Noin shows up in her Mobile Suit and offers Chang a 
            partnership -- she'll work with him to bring about total pacifism to 
            the colonies and to Earth as well. Chang, being the stubborn Gundam 
            pilot that he is, turns her down and zooms off to the dark recesses 
            of outer space. Noin watches him go, confused. 

                  The Gundam Boys moments before they kick N'Sync's asses. 
            The other four Gundam pilots, meanwhile, are pretty busy themselves. 
            Heero works on his newly procured Wing Gundam Zero. We're not told 
            what he's doing but one suspects he's trying to understand its Zero 
            System better so that he won't lose his mind the next time he goes 
            into battle. Duo Maxwell sees an ad that the Winner family is 
            looking for potential employees, which is a tip-off that Quatre is 
            back home again. Duo meets his old buddy and lets slip that Trowa's 
            now working in a circus. Quatre, feeling guilty for Trowa's weakened 
            mental condition, visits Trowa and apologizes to his friend. 
            Unfortunately, Trowa doesn't know who the hell Quatre is. 
            Just then, though, the Alliance moves their Mobile Suits into 
            position so that the colony is in the middle of an OZ/White Fang 
            firefight. Trowa regains some of his former memories as Quatre 
            rushes off to his Gundam suit. Outnumbered in outer space, he's 
            surprised by Trowa, who zooms up in a space shuttle. 
            Finally, Relena Peacecraft is installed as Queen of the world. She 
            makes a stirring speech, abolishing all national borders and claims 
            that finally, the world is one global nation. As the crowds cheer, 
            we wonder if passports have just become a collector's item. And if 
            so, anyone wanna buy mine? 

            --Ross Brooks takes all major credits cards but cash is preferred.