Wufei’s Defense

The pilot of Nataku is possibly the most wrongfully abused of all the characters in the series, with the exception of Relena Peacecraft. Generally, he is assumed from the first few episodes to be chauvinistic, arrogant and overly obsessed with justice. While it is true that these stereotypes are based on actual events, such as his scorn for Noin when he yells, “I don’t fight bleeding hearts and women,” they are merely a shallow exterior to his actual character.

First I will address the notion of his obsession with justice. It is true that he seems to have a very distinct and passionate sense of honor and justice, but anyone who does a little bit of background work (and isn’t a complete moron), will see that he does not fight for justice for the sake of justice. As episode zero reveals, it was Meiran, Wufei’s wife, that was concerned with the idealistic value of justice and righting the evils in the world. Wufei, as is shown, was a scholar, and he denounced Meiran’s idealism. He has no wish to fight and does not care for justice. When Meiran is killed, he takes upon her values and personality because he felt she was a better person than he, and that she was stronger than him. He believed that it was her who deserved to live, and thus he assumed her purpose and sets out in the Gundam Altron (called Nataku for Meiran, who called herself reincarnation of the legendary warrior by that name). I find it interesting that Meiran is an extremely popular character, although the qualities that are so admired in her are found to be vices in Wufei.

Meiran is also partly the source for his protectiveness over women. And it is protectiveness, not chauvinism. It seems to some that he considers women weaklings who are inferior. Yet his friendship with Sally Po is in direct contradiction to that statement. It is true that he asks her why she fights when she is too weak to accomplish anything, but it is because her army is fighting immensely superior mobile suits with rocket launchers and sabotage, which accomplishes relatively nothing. He uses Altron to save Sally and her soldiers because he has the strength to do so. He accepts that his use of the extraordinary power of the Gundam requires him to protect those weaker than him.

Some take his reticence toward the other pilots to be condescension, but it is merely that he is introverted. He doesn’t refuse to join the other four pilots out of superiority; rather he feels that he is personally better suited to fighting alone. And while he didn’t join the other four in battle as often as they joined one another, most of that time was when he was not fighting at all after his failed assassination of Treize Kushrenada. This withdrawal was due to his confusion over his purpose. If he was right, he should be strong enough to win. This, again, is not arrogance, but part of his promise to finish Meiran’s life in her place.

One of the most confusing aspects of Wufei’s development emerges in the OVA. In Endless Waltz, he joins Maremaia’s army, and many assume this to mean that he was loyal to her cause. He states clearly, however, that he was trying to find justice for himself. He couldn’t believe in the pacifistic world view that was instituted after the defeat of White Fang. As the title quotation of the OVA suggests, there is no way to ensure pacifism. If a country destroys its weapons, someone else will build more weapons and overthrow it more easily, from inside or outside. Wufei could not agree to the idea that total peace could be achieved. Thus he went to find a purpose for himself. It was Heero's sacrificial refusal to fight him that made him understand that he has a place outside of war. His joining the Preventers is ample proof of his intentions. The Preventers were a way to protect those too weak to protect themselves.

The intensity of the character can be misleading, because Wufei is and intense character. He's not particularly nice, in fact, but he has a very strong obligation to do what he feels must be done, and does it the best he can.

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Comments, positive or negative to gwynmclaine@hotmail.com
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