OVA
Description
Duo Maxwell is one of the five Gundam pilots at the center of the conflicts in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and its film conclusion, Endless Waltz. He is the pilot of the XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe and its upgraded form, the XXXG-01D2 Gundam Deathscythe Hell. In Endless Waltz, he is approximately sixteen years old and is easily recognized by his cheerful demeanor and his most distinctive physical feature: a thick, waist-length chestnut-brown braid. His usual attire consists of dark clothing, often a black vest or a V-neck leather jacket over a red shirt, paired with black pants and boots.
Born an orphan in the L2 colony cluster, Duo had no name or family to call his own. His early childhood was spent surviving on the streets with a gang of orphans led by a boy named Solo. When Solo died from an illness, the young boy took the name Duo, meaning "two," so that he and his lost friend would always be together. After a period of homelessness, he and his gang were taken in by the Maxwell Church, a place that finally offered him stability and care. The priest, Father Maxwell, and a nun, Sister Helen, became surrogate parents to him; it was Sister Helen who first braided his unruly hair, a style he has kept ever since.
This period of peace was shattered when rebels used the church as a hideout, drawing the attention of the Earth Alliance military. In a desperate attempt to save his new family, a seven-year-old Duo stole a mobile suit to help the rebels leave. Upon his return, he found the church burned to the ground, with Father Maxwell dead and Sister Helen dying in his arms. To honor their memory, he adopted their surname, becoming Duo Maxwell. Scarred by the loss of everyone he had ever loved, he began calling himself Shinigami, the God of Death, believing that death follows him.
On the surface, Duo is the most sociable and approachable of the Gundam pilots. He is talkative, jokes frequently, and has a bright, easy-going optimism that sets him apart from his more stoic comrades. He is quick to offer friendship, as he did with the initially hostile Heero Yuy. However, this cheerful exterior is a mask that hides a deeply traumatic past and a survivor's profound grief. He is a realist who fights to create a world where others do not have to suffer as he did, and the tagline he lives by reflects his pragmatic yet principled nature: "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie."
In Endless Waltz, set one year after the end of the TV series, a fragile peace has settled on Earth and the colonies. Duo has been living a quiet life running a salvage yard with his friend and former OZ soldier Hilde Schbeiker. When a new threat emerges in the form of the Mariemaia Army, which seizes control of the Earth government and captures peace advocate Relena Peacecraft, Duo immediately joins the fight. He teams up with Heero Yuy to infiltrate the enemy-occupied space colony X-18999. During the mission, he showcases his exceptional piloting skills by navigating a shuttle through a hail of enemy fire, a feat that impresses even Heero. He rejoins his fellow pilots Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton after they retrieve their Gundams from the sun, and together they descend to Earth to liberate Brussels. In the iconic battle, his black Gundam, with its bat-like wings and massive energy scythe, appears silhouetted against the full moon, cementing his reputation as the God of Death. Despite his fearsome title, he fights with restraint, disabling enemy suits without killing their pilots.
Duo shares a unique and significant bond with each of the other main characters. His relationship with Heero Yuy is central, as he is the first to break through Heero's cold, mission-focused shell, persistently offering trust and friendship until it is eventually reciprocated. Among the five pilots, he is likely the closest to Quatre Winner, whose own gentleness and empathy complement Duo's personality. His relationship with Hilde Schbeiker is a vital one; she is one of the few people who knows his true identity and offers him unwavering support. At the end of Endless Waltz, their partnership is shown to have endured, as they work together in their salvage business, representing the peaceful life he fought to achieve.
Over the course of the series and into Endless Waltz, Duo undergoes a subtle but significant evolution. He begins his journey consumed by a desire for revenge against the forces that destroyed his family, operating under the grim persona of the God of Death. By the film, he has moved past simple vengeance. While he still uses the Shinigami name and his Gundam is an instrument of destruction, his actions are driven by a determined will to protect the peace that has been built and to prevent his tragic past from repeating for others. He willingly destroys his own Gundam at the conflict's end, a powerful symbol that his identity as a warrior is no longer his primary role.
Duo's talents extend far beyond piloting a mobile suit. He is an expert in stealth and infiltration, skills he developed as a street child. He is highly proficient with firearms and explosives, and is an exceptional computer hacker and communications specialist. A member of the Sweeper Group, a space-faring salvage organization, he is also a gifted mechanic and salvager, able to repair and even modify complex machinery. While not as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Heero or Wufei, his agility, resourcefulness, and incredible luck or survival instinct allow him to escape from seemingly impossible situations. In Endless Waltz, his piloting skill is praised by Heero, who admits that Duo is the better pilot when they are on their dangerous infiltration mission. He faces the enemy not with cold precision, but with a combination of technical brilliance, showmanship, and an indomitable will to live and protect those he cares about. Want to know more about his Deathscythe or his relationships?
Born an orphan in the L2 colony cluster, Duo had no name or family to call his own. His early childhood was spent surviving on the streets with a gang of orphans led by a boy named Solo. When Solo died from an illness, the young boy took the name Duo, meaning "two," so that he and his lost friend would always be together. After a period of homelessness, he and his gang were taken in by the Maxwell Church, a place that finally offered him stability and care. The priest, Father Maxwell, and a nun, Sister Helen, became surrogate parents to him; it was Sister Helen who first braided his unruly hair, a style he has kept ever since.
This period of peace was shattered when rebels used the church as a hideout, drawing the attention of the Earth Alliance military. In a desperate attempt to save his new family, a seven-year-old Duo stole a mobile suit to help the rebels leave. Upon his return, he found the church burned to the ground, with Father Maxwell dead and Sister Helen dying in his arms. To honor their memory, he adopted their surname, becoming Duo Maxwell. Scarred by the loss of everyone he had ever loved, he began calling himself Shinigami, the God of Death, believing that death follows him.
On the surface, Duo is the most sociable and approachable of the Gundam pilots. He is talkative, jokes frequently, and has a bright, easy-going optimism that sets him apart from his more stoic comrades. He is quick to offer friendship, as he did with the initially hostile Heero Yuy. However, this cheerful exterior is a mask that hides a deeply traumatic past and a survivor's profound grief. He is a realist who fights to create a world where others do not have to suffer as he did, and the tagline he lives by reflects his pragmatic yet principled nature: "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie."
In Endless Waltz, set one year after the end of the TV series, a fragile peace has settled on Earth and the colonies. Duo has been living a quiet life running a salvage yard with his friend and former OZ soldier Hilde Schbeiker. When a new threat emerges in the form of the Mariemaia Army, which seizes control of the Earth government and captures peace advocate Relena Peacecraft, Duo immediately joins the fight. He teams up with Heero Yuy to infiltrate the enemy-occupied space colony X-18999. During the mission, he showcases his exceptional piloting skills by navigating a shuttle through a hail of enemy fire, a feat that impresses even Heero. He rejoins his fellow pilots Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton after they retrieve their Gundams from the sun, and together they descend to Earth to liberate Brussels. In the iconic battle, his black Gundam, with its bat-like wings and massive energy scythe, appears silhouetted against the full moon, cementing his reputation as the God of Death. Despite his fearsome title, he fights with restraint, disabling enemy suits without killing their pilots.
Duo shares a unique and significant bond with each of the other main characters. His relationship with Heero Yuy is central, as he is the first to break through Heero's cold, mission-focused shell, persistently offering trust and friendship until it is eventually reciprocated. Among the five pilots, he is likely the closest to Quatre Winner, whose own gentleness and empathy complement Duo's personality. His relationship with Hilde Schbeiker is a vital one; she is one of the few people who knows his true identity and offers him unwavering support. At the end of Endless Waltz, their partnership is shown to have endured, as they work together in their salvage business, representing the peaceful life he fought to achieve.
Over the course of the series and into Endless Waltz, Duo undergoes a subtle but significant evolution. He begins his journey consumed by a desire for revenge against the forces that destroyed his family, operating under the grim persona of the God of Death. By the film, he has moved past simple vengeance. While he still uses the Shinigami name and his Gundam is an instrument of destruction, his actions are driven by a determined will to protect the peace that has been built and to prevent his tragic past from repeating for others. He willingly destroys his own Gundam at the conflict's end, a powerful symbol that his identity as a warrior is no longer his primary role.
Duo's talents extend far beyond piloting a mobile suit. He is an expert in stealth and infiltration, skills he developed as a street child. He is highly proficient with firearms and explosives, and is an exceptional computer hacker and communications specialist. A member of the Sweeper Group, a space-faring salvage organization, he is also a gifted mechanic and salvager, able to repair and even modify complex machinery. While not as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Heero or Wufei, his agility, resourcefulness, and incredible luck or survival instinct allow him to escape from seemingly impossible situations. In Endless Waltz, his piloting skill is praised by Heero, who admits that Duo is the better pilot when they are on their dangerous infiltration mission. He faces the enemy not with cold precision, but with a combination of technical brilliance, showmanship, and an indomitable will to live and protect those he cares about. Want to know more about his Deathscythe or his relationships?