Addendum to Ask John Column

The amount of e-mail we’ve received in regard to the Ask John column of October 20th inquiring whether the Gundam Wing boys were gay has prompted this further report on the subject. The consensus opinion seems to be that at least some of the Gundam W boys, particularly Quatre and Trowa, are gay, which I’m not going to try to argue. I believe that an analysis limited exclusively to the animation alone leaves the determination (intentionally) ambiguous. I think that the animators could have made the boys’ sexual orientation obvious if they had wanted to, but doing what they did allows for the sort of debate and discussion among fans that this question has given rise to. I think that different viewers can see in the show what they want to see. I honestly don’t remember the show very well, as I only watched it once back in 1995 from untranslated Japanese TV broadcast tapes. I don’t recall seeing anything in the show that convinced me that any of the boys were homosexual, and that’s what I tried to express in my “Ask John” answer. At the same time, judging from the response that this question has generated, there is obviously enough subtle evidence and subtext in the show to build an argument upon. My intention was never to state that they boys were not gay. My intention, perhaps not fully realized in my “Ask John” answer, was to state that, based on an analysis of the animation alone, different viewers could interpret the show’s relationships in different ways.

A kind reader has sent in several links to fan sites that present “evidence” of homosexual relations within the series. Officially I have no position on the sexual orientation of the Gundam Wing characters. Personally, I enjoyed the series when I watched it, but was never enamored enough with it to really care whether any of the boys were homosexual. For the benefit of those readers that would like to know more about this debate, look to the episode guide section of the Subtle Hints: The Trowa & Quatre Sanctuary and the Ultimate 3X4, 4X3 Evidence page for specific citations from the animation and surrounding sources that point to a romantic link between Trowa & Quatre.