Gundam Wing: Blind Target

by Reku Fuyunagi, Akemi Omode, Sakura Asagi

Here is another exciting adventure in the mecha anime series, bsed ont he Cartoon Network hit. In this original story of the Gundam heroes, Relena and the Gundam pilots are targets of a shadowy conspiracy that will resort to anything, including murder, to get at the Gundams! But the G-boys won't give up without a fight, and they are all working furiously to unmask their enemy. But time is growing short - will the Gundams survive?

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Shonen, Fiction, Action

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 1999

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gundam Wing has a lot of weaknesses as a series. One of the most frustrating for me - besides the inherent conflict between its themes and its premise, is its chronic imbalance between plot and character development - very overly reliant on plot with not enough time taken for character development, generally speaking. Blind Target is an attempt to rectify one of the series' worst cases of this fault - its movie, Endless Waltz - with a prequel manga that takes the time out to explain how the characters wound up playing the roles that they played in that movie. Viewed in that way, it's a relative success and a fun read. However, the thematic weaknesses of the Gundam series in general were still as obvious as ever and at times could take away from the enjoyment, and there were still one or two places where I had trouble following what was going on. One final complaint - I don't think they were very creative in the character designs for two characters introduced in this volume - they looked way too similar to Heero and Relena. Maybe that was intentional, but I think a little more could have been done to help to distinguish them.

[Tifa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really like this one and think it's by far the best of the GW manga. The art is good, but the best part is that the plot makes total sense for once. It's a nice, concise story, unrealistic as always, but in this universe, it's to be expected. I still love Duo and how he is wonderfully normal and funny but the most human of the bunch. This was a terrific story to fill in between the original series and Endless Waltz.

[Juushika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A manga oneshot that occurs between the series and Endless Waltz, Blind Target is a pleasant surprise. The basic premise of reuniting the core cast is repetitive, given the show and movie, but the rest is fantastic. Sakura Asagi's art is faithful and gorgeous; characterization is on point. What benefits this most is its small scale, which constrains the plot to a reasonable interim size and allows for an intimate focus on the relationships between the pilots and how they continue in a time of apparent but imperfect peace. It's interpersonal, thoughtful, and thematically apt--especially the epilogue, which leads directly into Endless Waltz. I loved it.

[LBN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still love it all these years later. Here’s the thing about Wing, you’re either totally on board or you’re not.

I’ve seen a lot of bad faith criticism of this series over the years and I gotta say, the concept of a bunch of young people being the only thing stopping a complete political and social meltdown between the earth and the colonies really doesn’t seem that out of pocket after the last decade we’ve had. Is it outlandish and all over the place sometimes? Yes, of course. That’s politics and our key players are all 15-16. If anything I think this series captures the insanity of political upheaval, war, and being a teenager pretty damn well.

[James Zanghi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning! Slight spoilers!

A nice bridge piece between the original show and Endless Waltz. It's a little confusing as to where to place it chronologically with Ground Zero, the other Manga that takes place around the same time, but that isn't too important. The only problem I had was that when there are the capture/assassination attempts on Quatre and Relena in the early part of the manga, where were Rashid and the Maguanacs or Lucrezia Noin, especially Noin since she has mostly regarded Relena as her charge to protect. Nevertheless, great artwork and nice tight story.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. A solid interlude that fits in between the TV show and Endless Waltz.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Nostalgia trip. 🥰 The graphic art is amazing for these characters who were originally debuted in the anime.

[Mauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "good" manga that covers part of the gap between the end of the animated series and the movie, i.e. there's a sensible plot and a reasonable amount of character development.

[Amanda Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It fills some gaps between the anime and Endless Waltz. It’s a good enough story and there are some heartwarming moments in it.

[Airiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my favorite Gundam Wing manga, but I quite enjoyed the story. While it didn't provide much "asphalt" for the bridge between the series and GW: Endless Waltz, it gave the readers a few information as to the "whys" the fans asked when they watched EW (i.e. why did Chang Wufei joined the Mariemaia army).

Two thumbs up for the wonderful artwork too!

[Courtnee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like reading these books with things outside of the television series and OVA. It's very interesting to see what the pilots are up to all the time. They never seem to have boring lives, haha. This one was short, but still very good.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of fun. I thought it was a bit confusing at times, but the appearance of Ralph Kurt was interesting.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, nice supplement to the anime.

[Tajul Miftahushudur · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit different than another gundam wing mangas. there is no gundam battle at all, but instead by several political intrigue to tackle a mysterious organization's plan to start another war

[King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice lead - in to Endless Waltz