Meilan Long (竜 妹蘭?) is a fictional character from the After Colony era appearing in the manga Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Episode Zero. She is the granddaughter of Long Zi-ling and the wife of Chang Wufei.
Personality & Character[]
Meilan has a somewhat tumultuous personality. She has no love for her marriage to Wufei and has no compunctions against pointing out the flaws she sees in her husband. Feeling a great confidence in her martial ability, fostered by the fact that none in the clan can defeat her, she refers to herself as Nataku (ナタク) - a male protection deity of Chinese myth. Tragically, it's not until the final moments of her life that she and Wufei ultimately realized how much they truly loved each other.
Skills & Abilities[]
Meilan is known as the strongest martial artist of her clan and is also fortunate enough to be able to pilot a Tallgeese, however like most pilots she is unable to effectively compensate for its prodigious mobility.
History[]
Meilan grew up as a heiress of the Long Clan in Colony A0206. The Chinese government feared the strength of the clan and exiled them to the aging colony.
At the age of 14, as per clan custom Meilan married Chang Wufei. Despite being married, Meilan and Wufei are implied to have never consummated their marriage and continually talk as if still betrothed. Meilan had a strong passion and desire to fight for justice, seeing Wufei as being weak and pathetic because of his more scholarly inclinations. She is further incensed when she challenges Wufei and is easily defeated. He chides her for having the arrogance to call herself Nataku while being unable to best him, saying that the basis on which she grounds herself -a fight for justice is faulty.
When Sally Po leads a force to "sanitize" the colony under orders by General Septum, Meilan leaps into her Tallgeese in an effort to defend the colony against a OZ mobile suit force of advancing OZ-06MS Leo's. She battles them and is joined by a frustrated Wufei, angered at her impulsive behvaior. He joins her in battle in his incomplete XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam. During the battle, Wufei's beam saber runs out of energy when a Leo charges him. Meilan rushes the Leo, destroying it but also losing control of the Tallgeese and being ejected from the mobile suit in the process, the explosion that occurred also caused her fatal injuries. Wufei rescues the wounded Meilan and brings her to his beloved flower field as she requests. There she dies, saying that he was strong and she wasn't strong enough to be his wife.
As she died, Wufei honored her by calling her Nataku and gave the further honor of giving this nickname to his Gundam and dedicating himself to the strength of justice Meilan believed in.