The Shooting Star She Saw is the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. It first aired in Japan on April 7, 1995 and in North America on March 6, 2000.
Synopsis
It is the year After Colony 195. Humans have headed to space to live in space colonies. The colonists have been oppressed by the United Earth Sphere Alliance, which seizes control of many colonies using Mobile Suits. Rebel colonies implement Operation Meteor. New arsenals are sent to earth disguised as shooting stars. Five such shuttles depart their colonies and head to Earth.
A satellite detects the 5 objects heading for Earth. They inform the Alliance 'Specials' officer Lt. Zechs Marquise, who is currently in the atmosphere, returning to Earth. Zechs' craft detects one of the objects nearby and chases after it in his shuttle. The pilot of the object, named Heero Yuy, detects a civilian shuttle nearby. The shuttle holds Vice Foreign Minister Dorlan, an important member of the Alliance and his daughter Relena. They see the craft.
Heero plans to shoot down the civilian shuttle, but notices the Alliance shuttle overhead. He enters the atmosphere of Earth and the Alliance shuttle follows. Relena watches, and her father mentions Operation Meteor. The object breaks apart, revealing that it is some kind of fighter craft. The Alliance shuttle gets in attack range and Zechs orders his subordinates to shoot the craft down. The fighter craft dodges their shots.
Heero realizes there are Mobile Suits on board the Alliance shuttle, so he decides to shoot it down. Zechs gets in a Leo Mobile Suit and takes off. He manages to blast the craft. Two other pilots come out in Aries Mobile Suits. Suddenly, the fighter craft transforms into a large mobile suit, the Wing Gundam. The 2 Aries attack, but are easily blown away. Zechs heads after the Gundam and grasps on to the suit causing it to fall through the sky. He then leaves his Leo's cockpit parachutes away till the shuttle picks him up. He is informed that the Gundam is made of a craft called Gundanium alloy. As the Wing Gundam sinks into the water, Zechs is informed that the Alliance's Marina will head to get it.
At the spaceport, Dorlan gets off the plane with Relena. He goes with Alliance soldiers to see General Septum, while Relena walks home. On the way she sees Heero laying unconscious on the beach. She calls for an ambulance. Elsewhere, Colonel Treize Khushrenada, head of the Alliance's 'Specials' unit, also known as 'OZ' sits in an Opera balcony. He is informed by Zechs about what happened. He later heads to a meeting with top Alliance officials where he is yelled at by General Septum for losing valuable combat resources.
On the beach, Relena takes off Heero's helmet, and finds out that he is a boy her age. Heero wakes up, shocked that she has seen him. When the ambulance arrives, he sets off a charge in his spacesuit, which damages the suit, but does not harm him. He then knocks out the paramedics, and commandeers in the ambulance, making an escape. Relena calmly and rhetorically introduces herself and asks for the boy's name as he drives off.
Meanwhile, at a Mobile Suit Production plant, another Gundam, the Gundam Deathscythe arrives, piloted by Duo Maxwell. It destroys the plant. Another Gundam pilot named Trowa Barton attacks a space port in his Gundam Heavyarms. In the desert, a group of Leos look for one of the 5 shuttles. Suddenly, a large group of desert based Magunac Mobile Suits arrive and destroy them. They are led by Quatre Raberba Winner, pilot of the Gundam Sandrock, who destroys those that refuse to surrender. On the sea, multiple ships are destroyed by Wufei Chang, piloting the Shenlong Gundam.
Zech's shuttle goes over the sea where the Wing Gundam sank. He tells his two subordinates that 4 other Gundams have been seen as well, making a total of 5 of them. At Relena's school, everyone is anticipating her birthday party, with her being the richest and most popular girl in the school. Heero is introduced to the class as a new student, and silently sits next to Relena. Later, Relena provides Heero with an envelope containing an invitation to her birthday party. Heero prompty rips it up, then tells Relena that he is going to kill her. Heero leaves Relena, who wonders what kind of boy he is to say such a thing.
Important Events
- Characters Introduced: Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Wufei Chang, Relena Darlian, Zechs Marquise, Treize Khushrenada, Vice-Minister Darlian, Otto, General Septum
- Mecha Introduced: XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe, XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms, XXXG-01SR Gundam Sandrock, XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam, WMS-03 Maganac, OZ-06MS Leo, OZ-07AMS Aries
Staff
- Script: Katsuyuki Sumisawa
- Unit Director: Yasunao Aoki
- Animation Director: Nobuyoshi Nishimura