A quick note to readers: This is only my opinion and not for everyone else. All of us have been gifted with the freedom of speech, and I am simply using this opportunity to make my view on the subject. You may not agree with me and my ideas, but if you think that sending flames will change my mind then you are sadly mistaken, so please don’t.  I will also like to add that I never claim that I am right about this issue, because it is my personal idea.

 

Why I Never Liked Relena/Relina/Ririna/Releena Peacecraft

 

                    

I admit that up till now, despite it had been years since watching Gundam Wing, I still “hate” Relena Peacecraft. Since there are many people who wanted to know why, I decided to give my own answers. However, this will NOT  be the totality of reasons why other GW fans dislike her. I hope I am making sense here.

 

1.      Relena is a mockery of other lead females from various other Gundam titles

 

Relena’s character in GW is weak. From your typical commoner to a long-lost royalty  (w/c is not really original: Sayla Mass from Gundam and Cecilly Fairchild from Gundam F-91 had the same dilemma), who spends the first half of the series stalking Heero Yuy and the next  half, as a politician. She talks to thin air or to her dead dad’s picture and all she really talks about is either Heero and pacifism. Because of this, and the poor screen time on how Relena became a Peacecraft all of the sudden, she  has become a burden for me to watch, and so whenever the show features her, I usually reach for that wonderful remote control….more specifically the Forward button.

 

Why she is a “mockery”? Well, Relena is perhaps the only female Gundam (both UC and AU, well except for Quess Paraya of Char’s Counterattack) character, who really annoys me to no end. At least Raine from G Gundam shows that she is a big help for Domon, being able to run the Shining Gundam in one episode. And in Gundam X, Tifa (despite fainting in more ways than one), tried to keep herself out of trouble (and fail, trouble always gets to her one way or another). She was also handy to be around with the Freeden crew as she was the one who can tell them if they were in danger. There are even other women in the other Gundam series ended up being killed… cool women such as Haman Khan and Four Murasame. Turn-A’s Diana and Khiel were a couple of interesting women; they switched places and manages to see the viewpoint of one another…

 

Relena? She shrieks Heero’s name in top of a cliff inviting him to kill her! She orders Heero to kill Zechs during their battle in Antarctica! And later she actually felt relieved that their fight ended….only because Zechs left to fight the intruders…with disregard to her brother’s safety! I personally think that Relena an odd character.

 

2.      Relena is an obsessed stalker (is this redundant?)

 

No, I really mean it. Her fixation on Heero was formed soon after the guy carnapped the ambulance in the first episode. She follows him in another school, follows him in Antarctica, read a letter that wasn’t hers, then did some sneaky underhand attempts to keep him in Sanc (like telling him she send people looking for Trowa, even though she didn’t even met the guy, and the time Heero threatens to leave if Relena doesn’t keep the Mobile Suits like Noin suggested). Let’s not forget the “reminiscence” episode where the whole 20 minutes is spent on Relena talking to no one before screaming Heero’s name outside the window. I’ve read somewhere that one of the reasons that Relena liked to be with Heero is because she was tired with her conventional life. Heero provided the excitement she craved. If that is true, I disliked her even more. Liking your would-be murderer because you were BORED with yourself?  I find it somewhat wrong…

 

3.      Relena is a politician

 

Relena became the figure in GW politics. And politics doesn’t suit well on me (even if it’s about my country!). And now that she is, the least she could do is make her speeches and preach on pacifism more interesting to listen to. She can’t really say the wrongs and the horrors of war because she never experienced that firsthand, being sheltered and all. So in some angles, I actually find her a hypocrite. But then again, the creators of GW did made this because they want Relena’s character to be innocent.

 

4.      Relena isn’t a good leader

 

I don’t know why they made the Sanc Kingdom episodes in the first place. I find it totally useless. Relena’s leadership skill needs serious work, as the mentioned Kingdom fell before it reached a year! I don’t understand what Relena was trying to prove to the audience, anyway….she would renounce Zechs as her brother in front of Romafeller, but she would publicly aid OZ Treize faction without a second thought (this gave Romafeller a reason to invade Sanc, actually). She will be angry at Noin for thinking about the defense of Sanc using robots (because it was against pacifism), but changes her mind when  Heero threatens to leave. I guess what I can’t stand about it most is that when Relena surrenders to Romafeller. People pointed out to me that the defenders were losing anyway. Losing to what?! There are no people in Sanc. The building Phagan is in with Relena’s students were probably the only ones who lived there. And Quatre didn’t seem to lose any of the Magancs he’s with. Heero and Zechs destroyed the army with ease using Epyon and Wing Zero respectively. It doesn’t make sense.

 

Her role as Queen of the World….no comment, because all she really did was talk (that still doesn’t make her a good leader, as she is just a figurehead). Oh, yeah, just when Romafeller was about to listen to her, her position was stolen by Treize. Besides, her OZ disarmament policy was fated to fail anyway as her brother was declaring war on Earth.

 

Finally, Relena didn’t do anything during the Eve Wars (the last parts of GW). She was unable to stop Zechs, and became just a pretty spectator who Heero was obligated to rescue. She doesn’t seem to be worried that her brother might be dead, but finds the time to flirt with Heero about the teddy bear.

 

If you noticed, all of these was about Relena Peacecraft, not Relena Darlian (whom she now calls herself in Endless Waltz). In EW, Relena actually stopped the steroids and acts normal now. Unfortunately, those three OAV episodes did not compensate for her annoying 49 episodes in the TV series. Besides, what was that all about, being kidnapped by a seven-year-old?

 

Again, if a Relena fan stumbles into this small essay, please do not take this against you. As I said before, it is just an opinion. But all of these opinions are based from my own observations and the little facts Relena had shown herself in the series (I’ve watched GW again for the sole purpose of making this write-up). Sorry in advance to those who were offended, thanks to those who agreed. Also I appreciate for your time.