Relena Peacecraft

Relena Peacecraft (also known as Relena Darlian), a fictional character, is one of the central characters in the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and its various spinoffs. She is the younger sister of Milliardo Peacecraft (AKA Zechs Merquise). Her voice in the television and film versions was provided by Akiko Yajima (JPN), Lisa Ann Beley (ENG), and Valérie De Vulpian (FR).

Personality

Relena is a rather complex character, one who changes throughout the Gundam Wing series. If Milliardo is to be considered the Gundam Wing counterpart to Char Aznable, then she would be the perfect counterpart for Sayla Mass. She begins the series as a lonely young woman, hiding her true feelings behind a mask of detached politeness. Her initial encounters with Heero Yuy, possibly the first truly honest person she's ever met, lead to her casting off her routine life in order to understand the alien world from which the young Gundam Pilot comes. As the series progresses, Relena does her best to become more worldly and knowledgeable, despite the fact that she is still a fifteen-year-old girl. Given the responsibilities of leading a nation, and then the entire world, Relena was forced to grow up rather quickly; as a result, when she appears in the movie Endless Waltz, she displays an incredible amount of confidence and competence for someone her age.

There are several elements of Relena's character which remain constant, however. One is her idealism; once she learns of her true heritage as a Peacecraft, she does all she can to bring her father's Total Pacifism to the world, no matter how many people consider her naïve. Similarly, Relena is portrayed as very compassionate, always looking out for the well-being of others before her own. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Relena has a fiery determination and bravery that she brings to everything she believes in. When her homeland is under attack, she refuses to back down even as enemy attacks pepper the very building she is standing in, but finally gives in when she realizes that innocent people are being hurt in the crossfire. In Endless Waltz, she risks death by stealing one of the enemy force's broadcasts to urge the citizens to stand up to the invaders. When staring down the barrel of Dekim Barton's pistol, she defiantly declares that she's prepared to die for her beliefs if need be.

Relena is often portrayed as an intellectual; she is well-read and enjoys chess. A conversation with Pagan early on suggests that she is a fan of suspense-thriller novels.

History

Origins

Relena was born in April 7, AC 180, and is the daughter of Sanc Kingdom rulers, King Peacecraft and his wife, Queen Katrina, who adopted the original Heero Yuy's "Total Pacifism" beliefs for Earth. But in AC 182, the Sanc Kingdom was attacked by the United Earth Sphere Alliance, crushing the Peacecraft monarchy. Vice Foreign Minister Darlian, a friend of the Peacecrafts, eventually adopted Relena, and she was renamed Relena Darlian.

Gundam Wing: Episode Zero

In the year AC 191, Relena attends The St. Gabriel Academy. There, she would meet an unnamed boy (who is assumed to be Heero Yuy). Later on, her home city would be under attack, and she was then held hostage by an unnamed assailant, until she was rescued by Zechs Merquise (which Relena, at that time, isn't aware that he is her older brother). Zechs, having abandoned the Peacecraft name, introduced himself as the "Prince of the Stars", and walked away. The next day, the unknown boy is gone before Relena could introduce herself to him. (This is where her quote, "My name is Relena Darlian, what's yours?", came from in the first episode of the TV series.) Rumors that spread around the school said that the orphaned boy was part of the attack on a base near the town.

Gundam Wing

During a shuttle flight with Vice Foreign Minister Darlian, Relena witnesses a battle between Wing Gundam and a Leo mobile suit. She then went to the Gundam's crash site, and was shocked to discover that the pilot is a boy who is the same age as her. Before she can know who he is, the boy fled the scene, stealing an ambulance. Back at her school, Relena discovers that the new student (who introduces himself as Heero Yuy) was the same pilot whom she met earlier, and later on, she would try to invite Heero to her birthday party, but Heero tears the invitation, and threatens to kill her.

Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian was killed in an assassination attempt by Lady Une, and as he lays dying, he tells Relena that he is not her real father, and that her real father is King Peacecraft. She was then saved by Doctor J's (Heero's trainer) workers, and upon meeting him, she learns the truth about Heero Yuy.

Relena would intervene during a rematch between Heero and Zechs at Antarctica, but Lucrezia Noin would tell the truth about Zechs; he is actually her older brother, Millardo Peacecraft. After that, before they were forced to escape, Zechs askes Noin to protect Relena.

After the fight, Relena and Noin (now Relena's advisor) moved to the reconstituted Sanc Kingdom. Aside from her regular duties as the ruler, Relena opened a school where she can teach her family's beliefs. She would gain three more students: Heero, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Dorothy Catalonia, the granddaughter of Romerfeller head Duke Dermail.

Despite it being a neutral nation, the Sanc Kingdom would once again be under attack by the Romefeller Foundation, and, despite the best efforts of Noin, Quatre, Heero, and the Maganac Corps, Relena was forced to surrender to Romefeller and dissolved the country. She was then taken into Romefeller custody, and was given an offer to become the new head representative of Romefeller. Relena accepts, taking on the title as the "Queen of the World". In her first act, Queen Relena announces the dissolution of all the national borders, and unifies the Earth as the World Nation. Suddenly, she was shocked to learn that Zechs Merquise is the new leader of the colonial rebel faction, White Fang, and that he officially declared war on the World Nation. After the declaration, former Romefeller leader Treize Khushrenada returns, and asks Relena to resign from her position; she accepts, on the condition that she goes to space to personally confront her brother.

In space, Relena would confront Zechs and try to talk some sense into him, but he would not listen to her, and was instead held captive inside the Libra, White Fang's space station. She would be found by Heero, and again, they confronted Zechs. After that, Relena was sent to the World Nation's asteroid base, MO-2, where she witnessed the final fight between Heero and Zechs.

At the end of the Eve Wars, Relena becomes the Vice-Foreign Minister of the new Earth-Sphere Unified Nation. On her shuttle, she sees a teddy bear and a card left by a worker. She discovers that the worker was Heero, and after tearing up his card, she smiles at him.

G-Unit

Though she does not actually appear in G-Unit, references are made to Relena by Dr. Berg, the inventor of the titular machines. Berg mentions that with the Romefeller Foundation being lead by "that Peacecraft girl", he will have to act independently from now on.

Endless Waltz

In Endless Waltz, Relena, now the Vice Foreign Minister for the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, was abducted by Barton Foundation representatives while attending a meeting at the L3 Colony, X-18999. She would meet Mariemaia Khushrenada (who ordered the kidnapping), who is planning to use Relena's influence with the people for her plans to rule the Earth. During the fight against the Mariemaia Army in Brussels, Belgium, Relena admitted to Mariemaia that she gave up the Peacecraft name, and explained that what's needed now is the heart to hope for peace, and that hatred would lead to more hatred. After the battle finally ended, Relena one again resumes her duties as the Vice Foreign Minister, starting the Terra Formation Project, which Preventer Agents Zechs and Lucrezia Noin are working on. Template:Endspoiler

Controversy

Relena is the most controversial character in Gundam Wing, and fan opinion has greatly divided over her. The female audience (mainly the shōnen-ai / yaoi audience) criticize Relena for her "near-obsession" with Heero Yuy, even going as far as to call her a "stalker" (though ironically enough, Heero is shown following Relena more often, as a method of protecting her, especially in the later episodes). She has been portrayed in a negative fashion in some Gundam Wing fanfics. Some examples of unflattering portrayals of Relena include her being unusually stupid, clingy, needy, obsessive, ugly, and practically every other negative trait that can be associated with a woman, to the point where she would be called a Mary Sue by her detractors (in her case, a "Canon Sue").

Another cause of this controversy is the possible Heero & Relena pairing, which upset some of the female fans. The Heero and Relena pairing was hinted throughout the series and is not shown explicitly, compared to the popular pairings of Zechs & Noin, Treize & Lady Une, and Duo & Hilde. It should be noted, that Relena's fascination with Heero stems from his total disinterest in her following their first encounter and may not be motivated by love as much as by curiousity.

Many detractors try to say that Relena and Heero were never meant to be a couple, citing series director Masashi Ikeda's interviews; however, in these, Ikeda simply says that he lacks the ability to write romantic relationships, and thought the political relationship between Heero and Relena was more important than a romantic one.

Some fans believe that Sunrise intentionally stifled a possible romantic relationship between Heero and Relena, believing that it would alienate some of the audience (again, the shōnen-ai / yaoi audience). This view may have some credibility, since all of the official spin-offs portray them as having a much closer relationship. In the Preventer 5 story of Ground Zero, Heero refers to Relena as "my girl" (though it should be noted that the situation was a hypothetical one, where he pretended to be enraged by her kidnapping and attacking the kidnappers with Wing Zero; some believe that the "my girl" line was in reference to Sally Po, who would fake her death as part of the plan). Battlefield of Pacifists has him promising to always look after her. Blind Target has Heero getting very close to Relena, heavily implying a kiss (this image is often used as Heero/Relena pairing evidence), and the radio play version has him begin to say something to her (perhaps "I love you" before being drowned out by space shuttle engines. The Bandai-published but non-canon manga Ground Zero features an extra short story, In Rose, which gives heavy hinting to the notion that Heero does love Relena, but keeps his feelings secret. The manga adaptation of Endless Waltz shows an alternate ending, in which Heero stays with Relena, apparently a member of the Secret Service. One of the central scenes of Endless Waltz, in all versions, has Heero collapsing and being caught by Relena, who holds him close.

It should be noted, however, that the major point of contention with regards to the possibility of Heero and Relena's romance is the notion that Heero loves Relena. It is generally accepted that Relena does love Heero, as indicated by her actions in the series and her image songs. Though it is often believed that Heero dislikes Relena, or only tolerates her as an important public figure, an important scene near the end of Gundam Wing has Relena expressing her admiration and fondness for Heero, who responds by saying "I feel the same way." In the very next episode, Heero pulls Relena close, speaks to her in a soft tone of voice, and promises to return to her, smiling gently all the while. In the last episode, Hero gave Relena a teddy bear, which in Japanese culture means that they will be together forever.

Cameos

Relena - or at least very Relena-like character - make appearances in several other Gundam series. In Gundam X episode 15 "I Wonder if There's A Heaven?", Roybea Roy visits several of his old girlfriends while on leave from the Freeden. The second girlfriend he meets with looks and acts a lot like Relena, and as Roybea looks her up in his little black book afterwards, says a line similar to Heero's famous "Mission completed."

File:SDGun PrinLily.gif

Princess Lily (SD Gundam Force)

In SD Gundam Force, the character of Lacroa's Princess Lily is heavily based off of Relena. Her full name, Lilijimarna Miya Do Lacroa (sometimes spelled as "Relehimana"), references Relena, her Japanese voice actor (Akiko Yajima), and her brother Milliardo. Though Lily looks a good bit like a young Relena, her personally is a bit different, being more aggressive and scheming, even going so far as attempting to cheat in a game of shogi played against the villain Kibaohmaru.

Some fans draw connections between Relena and Turn A Gundam's Dianna Soreil, believing the latter to be at least partially inspired by the former (and another of Tomino's links to past Gundam series). Others believe that there may be a common bond between Relena and Gundam Seed's Lacus Clyne; besides playing similar roles in their respective series, Lacus' birthplace is said to be Scandinavia, which is the officially recognized location of the Sanc Kingdom. Relena's role and history are very similar to Gundam Seed's Cagalli Yula Athha, though the two characters are significantly different in personality and popularity with the fans.

Trivia

• Relena is the only Gundam Wing character with a confirmed birthday: April 7, AC180. The obvious portent of this day is the fact that, five years prior to Relena's birth, colonial leader Heero Yuy was assassinated; his name would eventually be taken up by the young Gundam Pilot with whom she fell in love.

External links

• GundamOffical.com's Official profile for Relena