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kaigouthe five gundams: strength & weakness
One thing that caught my eye while watching the last two episodes are the different maneuvers of each Gundam, and the tentative alliances that have formed between the pairs. I read once that Heavyarms and Sandrock make for one of the best teams, because their designs work in tandem, with each compensating for the other Gundam's weakness.
So, I went and looked up the official statistics. The simplest comparison is in the fighting statistics, which Bandai/Sunrise – as a good mecha-based company – provides for each unit in its Gundam series. The first stat is actually listed as 'fighting' which I take to mean 'close-combat fighting skills' or possibly a translation of 'agility', since that's normally a statistic in such lists. And given the ranks for each, it makes sense this is actually what 'fighting' means. (If anyone knows for certain, please let me know.)
The first thing that jumps out is that Wing is not the highest ranked in any category. While Wing's score adds up to the highest, in any single category Heero's the second ranked, at most. 3rd in agility, 2nd in weapons, 2nd in speed, tied for 4th in power, and 4th in armor.
The second thing I notice is that when it comes to weaponry, Heavyarms (obviously) has everyone beaten from the start. In contrast, Sandrock is excessively armored. Heavyarms is an offensive machine, while Sandrock is almost unbelievably defensive. Deathscythe is second in agility behind Shenlong, but Deathscythe's speed outstrips everyone, with only Wing coming close. It's therefore no surprise that Deathscythe and Shenlong have the least armor; such weight would compromise their speed and maneuverability, and of the latter, Shenlong is far above the rest, with Deathscythe a few paces behind.
This is, actually, where I originally got my assumptions in my stories that Heero is not the best at anything. Instead, he's the best all-around fighter. He can hold his own with each, but all four together would whallop him. Heero is not a specialist, like the other four; he's the generalist of the group.
Wing may be a slight bit lighter than Deathscythe, but it can't compete on speed and agility. Deathscythe is designed to get in close to the enemy without detection, strike fast, and get away before the enemy can retaliate. On land, Deathscythe is at a clear disadvantage, unlike under water or in space, where it can use its speed and maneuverability to come at the enemy from all angles.
Against Heavyarms – a distinctly long-range machine – Wing would get pummeled to bits, although if he got in a good shot or two, he might do some damage. The intriging thing here is that Trowa is among the most subtle of the pilots, yet his machine is just about anything but. It's designed for standing off at a distance and pounding the enemy into dust. There's no sneaking about in Heavyarms.
Sandrock could probably take anything Wing threw, and be impervious. It, like Heavyarms, is among the slowest of the machines – due more to its armor than its light armament – but that armor does count for something. Wing would have to play on speed and increased manueveribility to make up for the fact that Sandrock's armor and power outrank Wing.
Shenlong's not as fast as Deathscythe, but he's far more agile. This probably reflects Wufei's implied skill at hand-to-hand fighting, by giving him a machine that moves as easily as he does. (Trowa may be gymnastic and acrobatic, but we never see him fighting in close combat, that I can recall; even in person, his arsenal tends to be long range, and his movements are evasive rather than graceful close-in fighting like Wufei.) Wing is faster, slightly more armored, and better armed than Shenlong, but it doesn't quite rank on power.
The top in each category, really, and it's indicative of their characterizations in curious ways: Duo, speed; Trowa, offense; Quatre, defense and power; Wufei, agility.
Second table: armaments, with weight in metric tons. I've compiled some things together, such as Heavyarms having three different types of missiles. The gun, however, for all five, is a Vulcan gun; the cannons are several types but all in the cannon class.
Again, the strengths reflect the first table, although the fact that Wing is the lightest of the Gundams (I was expecting Shenlong or Deathscythe) surprised me. Although the hyperjammer ECM system on Deathscythe is not technically part of the armament in terms of weaponry, it is a mechanism for fighting – it's what lets Duo get in close without warning, using his lighter Gundam and in-close weaponry to its best advantage. Heavyarms is quite disadvantaged, comparatively speaking, once he runs out of weaponry. Without Quatre backing him up, he'd be a sitting duck; Quatre's heavy defensive abilities and close-in weaponry let him take full-on attacks without flinching.
Shenlong, like Wing, is another variable machine, from close-in to mid-range. His only long-range weapon is the standard vulcan gun, but the flamethrower and dragon fang let him get past his immediate fighting circle, and his agility renders him lethal once he gets close to an opponent.
In some ways, it makes sense that Trowa forms alliances with the other pilots. With Shenlong, he can hammer at the distant opponents while Shenlong takes on those who manage to get past Trowa's barrage. The same setup is feasible with Sandrock and Wing. Trowa and Duo as a combination wouldn't be nearly as feasible, since Duo's methods rely on stealth – going to the enemy – and that would put him in Trowa's direct line of fire. Deathscythe, when cornered, can do damage, but his lack of armor means one or two hits and he'd be done-in. (It also may be why Trowa was able to destroy the non-operative Deathscythe; the machine's defense is to get out of the way, since it doesn't have the armament to deflect a head-on strike.)
As WindsorBlue mentioned in another post, Trowa's snarl to Heero and Duo (at the New Edwards Base) is: "you're all bunched up!" For the longest time, that had made no sense to me – who was he talking to? She pointed out that Wing and Deathscythe, at that point, are fighting back-to-back, essentially. Wing has long-range capabilities with the buster rifle, but he's also capable at close-up, using the beam saber. With the numbers they faced, Wing seems to be relying on close-in fighting as much as Deathscythe, and the two were essentially letting the enemy come to them.
This puts the enemy directly around them, and everyone ends up in Trowa's line of fire. From Heavyarms' perspective, close-in fighting among enemy and ally undermines his ability to attack fully. He sent the missiles towards the entire group, but it's Duo who gets the angriest, possibly because with his much-lighter armor, he got the blast the worst (though Heero isn't exactly much better off).
Another fighting combination that works well is Sandrock and Deathscythe, I think, because Sandrock can let the enemy come to him, while Deathscythe comes at them from behind. So it's no surprise, to me, that we see Duo and Quatre pairing up to work together several times during the series. Their strengths and weaknesses, as reflected in their machines, balance each other (but differently than Sandrock balances the rest). Sandrock and Wing also balance, for the same reason; Sandrock's almost total-defensive abilities let Wing keep at the mid-range to long-range, picking them off with Sandrock at his back. In fact, Quatre is the best-equipped to fight alongside any of the other Gundams, in a partnership.
And as I mentioned before, while Trowa does partner with the other Gundams, the only one with whom his abilities would be more of a detriment would be with Duo. Wufei and Duo could work as a team, if less ably so, with Wufei having some mid-range armaments, and able to get in an out almost as fast as Duo. The two would actually be quite lethal if working in space, where they could use their maneuverability and speed to better advantage. It's one way, I think, in which there's an implication that Duo and Wufei have similar foundations for their personalities and motivations (in that the Gundams are supposed to reflect the personality of the pilot, in terms of design), even if the expressions of their personalities are radically different.
So let's see, mottos for each. Duo: get in, strike hard, get away ("I run and hide..."). Trowa: stand back and pound them into dust (a nice constrast to the up-close work required in infiltration). Quatre: defend (the natural position of a general, remaining at the rear to overlook the field and arrange troops). Wufei: strike hard and get out of the way (as opposed to Duo, who just gets away). Trowa against Duo, no contest: one long-range strike if Duo can't move fast enough, and Duo's down. Against Wufei: much, much harder, since Wufei has the ability to avoid a strike but remain close enough to damage Trowa.
Ehhh, enough gearheading for now. I've got laundry to do!
One thing that caught my eye while watching the last two episodes are the different maneuvers of each Gundam, and the tentative alliances that have formed between the pairs. I read once that Heavyarms and Sandrock make for one of the best teams, because their designs work in tandem, with each compensating for the other Gundam's weakness.
So, I went and looked up the official statistics. The simplest comparison is in the fighting statistics, which Bandai/Sunrise – as a good mecha-based company – provides for each unit in its Gundam series. The first stat is actually listed as 'fighting' which I take to mean 'close-combat fighting skills' or possibly a translation of 'agility', since that's normally a statistic in such lists. And given the ranks for each, it makes sense this is actually what 'fighting' means. (If anyone knows for certain, please let me know.)
| Stats Agility Weapons Speed Power Armor Total | Wing 130 140 150 120 130 670 | Scythe 140 120 160 120 120 660 | Heavyarms 110 160 110 140 140 660 | Sandrock 120 120 110 150 160 660 | Shenlong 160 110 130 140 120 660 |
The first thing that jumps out is that Wing is not the highest ranked in any category. While Wing's score adds up to the highest, in any single category Heero's the second ranked, at most. 3rd in agility, 2nd in weapons, 2nd in speed, tied for 4th in power, and 4th in armor.
The second thing I notice is that when it comes to weaponry, Heavyarms (obviously) has everyone beaten from the start. In contrast, Sandrock is excessively armored. Heavyarms is an offensive machine, while Sandrock is almost unbelievably defensive. Deathscythe is second in agility behind Shenlong, but Deathscythe's speed outstrips everyone, with only Wing coming close. It's therefore no surprise that Deathscythe and Shenlong have the least armor; such weight would compromise their speed and maneuverability, and of the latter, Shenlong is far above the rest, with Deathscythe a few paces behind.
This is, actually, where I originally got my assumptions in my stories that Heero is not the best at anything. Instead, he's the best all-around fighter. He can hold his own with each, but all four together would whallop him. Heero is not a specialist, like the other four; he's the generalist of the group.
Wing may be a slight bit lighter than Deathscythe, but it can't compete on speed and agility. Deathscythe is designed to get in close to the enemy without detection, strike fast, and get away before the enemy can retaliate. On land, Deathscythe is at a clear disadvantage, unlike under water or in space, where it can use its speed and maneuverability to come at the enemy from all angles.
Against Heavyarms – a distinctly long-range machine – Wing would get pummeled to bits, although if he got in a good shot or two, he might do some damage. The intriging thing here is that Trowa is among the most subtle of the pilots, yet his machine is just about anything but. It's designed for standing off at a distance and pounding the enemy into dust. There's no sneaking about in Heavyarms.
Sandrock could probably take anything Wing threw, and be impervious. It, like Heavyarms, is among the slowest of the machines – due more to its armor than its light armament – but that armor does count for something. Wing would have to play on speed and increased manueveribility to make up for the fact that Sandrock's armor and power outrank Wing.
Shenlong's not as fast as Deathscythe, but he's far more agile. This probably reflects Wufei's implied skill at hand-to-hand fighting, by giving him a machine that moves as easily as he does. (Trowa may be gymnastic and acrobatic, but we never see him fighting in close combat, that I can recall; even in person, his arsenal tends to be long range, and his movements are evasive rather than graceful close-in fighting like Wufei.) Wing is faster, slightly more armored, and better armed than Shenlong, but it doesn't quite rank on power.
The top in each category, really, and it's indicative of their characterizations in curious ways: Duo, speed; Trowa, offense; Quatre, defense and power; Wufei, agility.
| Stats | Wing | Scythe | Heavyarms | Sandrock | Shenlong |
| Weight | 7.1 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| Gun | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Cannon | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Missile | – | – | 4 | 2 | – |
| Shield | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 |
| Other | beam saber buster rifle | hyper jammer beam scythe | army knife | heat shotel | dragon fang flamethrower beam glaive |
Second table: armaments, with weight in metric tons. I've compiled some things together, such as Heavyarms having three different types of missiles. The gun, however, for all five, is a Vulcan gun; the cannons are several types but all in the cannon class.
Again, the strengths reflect the first table, although the fact that Wing is the lightest of the Gundams (I was expecting Shenlong or Deathscythe) surprised me. Although the hyperjammer ECM system on Deathscythe is not technically part of the armament in terms of weaponry, it is a mechanism for fighting – it's what lets Duo get in close without warning, using his lighter Gundam and in-close weaponry to its best advantage. Heavyarms is quite disadvantaged, comparatively speaking, once he runs out of weaponry. Without Quatre backing him up, he'd be a sitting duck; Quatre's heavy defensive abilities and close-in weaponry let him take full-on attacks without flinching.
Shenlong, like Wing, is another variable machine, from close-in to mid-range. His only long-range weapon is the standard vulcan gun, but the flamethrower and dragon fang let him get past his immediate fighting circle, and his agility renders him lethal once he gets close to an opponent.
In some ways, it makes sense that Trowa forms alliances with the other pilots. With Shenlong, he can hammer at the distant opponents while Shenlong takes on those who manage to get past Trowa's barrage. The same setup is feasible with Sandrock and Wing. Trowa and Duo as a combination wouldn't be nearly as feasible, since Duo's methods rely on stealth – going to the enemy – and that would put him in Trowa's direct line of fire. Deathscythe, when cornered, can do damage, but his lack of armor means one or two hits and he'd be done-in. (It also may be why Trowa was able to destroy the non-operative Deathscythe; the machine's defense is to get out of the way, since it doesn't have the armament to deflect a head-on strike.)
As WindsorBlue mentioned in another post, Trowa's snarl to Heero and Duo (at the New Edwards Base) is: "you're all bunched up!" For the longest time, that had made no sense to me – who was he talking to? She pointed out that Wing and Deathscythe, at that point, are fighting back-to-back, essentially. Wing has long-range capabilities with the buster rifle, but he's also capable at close-up, using the beam saber. With the numbers they faced, Wing seems to be relying on close-in fighting as much as Deathscythe, and the two were essentially letting the enemy come to them.
This puts the enemy directly around them, and everyone ends up in Trowa's line of fire. From Heavyarms' perspective, close-in fighting among enemy and ally undermines his ability to attack fully. He sent the missiles towards the entire group, but it's Duo who gets the angriest, possibly because with his much-lighter armor, he got the blast the worst (though Heero isn't exactly much better off).
Another fighting combination that works well is Sandrock and Deathscythe, I think, because Sandrock can let the enemy come to him, while Deathscythe comes at them from behind. So it's no surprise, to me, that we see Duo and Quatre pairing up to work together several times during the series. Their strengths and weaknesses, as reflected in their machines, balance each other (but differently than Sandrock balances the rest). Sandrock and Wing also balance, for the same reason; Sandrock's almost total-defensive abilities let Wing keep at the mid-range to long-range, picking them off with Sandrock at his back. In fact, Quatre is the best-equipped to fight alongside any of the other Gundams, in a partnership.
And as I mentioned before, while Trowa does partner with the other Gundams, the only one with whom his abilities would be more of a detriment would be with Duo. Wufei and Duo could work as a team, if less ably so, with Wufei having some mid-range armaments, and able to get in an out almost as fast as Duo. The two would actually be quite lethal if working in space, where they could use their maneuverability and speed to better advantage. It's one way, I think, in which there's an implication that Duo and Wufei have similar foundations for their personalities and motivations (in that the Gundams are supposed to reflect the personality of the pilot, in terms of design), even if the expressions of their personalities are radically different.
So let's see, mottos for each. Duo: get in, strike hard, get away ("I run and hide..."). Trowa: stand back and pound them into dust (a nice constrast to the up-close work required in infiltration). Quatre: defend (the natural position of a general, remaining at the rear to overlook the field and arrange troops). Wufei: strike hard and get out of the way (as opposed to Duo, who just gets away). Trowa against Duo, no contest: one long-range strike if Duo can't move fast enough, and Duo's down. Against Wufei: much, much harder, since Wufei has the ability to avoid a strike but remain close enough to damage Trowa.
Ehhh, enough gearheading for now. I've got laundry to do!
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Date: 16 Apr 2005 11:53 pm (UTC)That's some serious geekage.
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Date: 17 Apr 2005 12:13 am (UTC)The mecha are one thing, thier pilots and how they use thier suits determon how powerful they are.
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Date: 17 Apr 2005 02:50 pm (UTC)Yes, I totally gearhead. Sometimes.
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Date: 11 May 2006 12:16 am (UTC)Of course, with EW, we could (from a writer's PoV) look at it... the original Trowa Barton was anything but subtle. Heavyarms was designed for him originally, so the contrast between Heavyarms and Trowa could be a subtle hint that he's not what - or who - he seems to be.
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Date: 11 May 2006 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 May 2006 01:14 am (UTC)