About Wufei
I'm not really going to give the statistics because I think everyone knows them by now. If you want them, go to http://www.gundamwing.org to find them.
As a major character, Wufei has a lot of duties on his hands; he is one of the main 5 Gundam pilots, after all. However, his scarcity of lines and character itself makes it hard for people to understand (let alone like) his character; if you look on the English 'Net, there are many more fans of more featured characters like Duo and Quatre. (There is also the factor of what is emphasized in his character, which I'll discuss.)
The first four episodes tell you a lot about each character...and it sticks. Heero is strong and silent, hates Relena, and obviously the main one of the five pilots; Duo is talkative and obviously wants to be friendly with Heero; Trowa is a silent, little-heard character that does not even have a name; Quatre is sweet and has a slight...brotherly (at that point) affection to Trowa; and Wufei is chauvinistic, uptight, and does not like fighting against women, which (in his opinion) are weak.
Most fans of Gundam Wing are female. Now, look up at those descriptions. Which one do you think a bunch of 17-year-old female otakus are going to dislike the most? Wufei, of course! I mean, really...that's kind of a harsh way to introduce a character! Oi. However, some people got an inclination towards him: the gravity-defying bike, the cool hair *sigh*, the eyes *sigh*, the pride.... I could go on forever. :-P
So...this stuff sticks! Look at most humor fics. Duo is hyper and talkative. Quatre is a sweet, innocent little blonde Arab. Trowa doesn't talk. Heero threatens people a lot (like he did Relena). And Wufei REALLY hates women and acts REALLY uptight. But there's more to the character than that...of course.
There is more to ANY person than a stereotype. There are outer facades, inner wishes and desires...eep, I'm sounding like my sister! >.< Anyway. Obviously, there is more to Wufei's character than most fans allow of him. Later episodes show that he tries to be loyal to family and has very high standards of himself and Nataku...not to mention his inner hurt from defeating enemies. I believe that Ishino Ryuuzou, Wufei's seiyuu, once said that "Riding on a dignity higher than anyone, self-imposing rules stricter than any warrior, Chang Wufei walks a life believing in himself. But never did he once think that his strictness and seriousness actually hides a tender and rich soul that he doesn't even know exists in a 15-year-old body...." [Source: The Gundam Wing Sanctum.]
I guess that I'm biased because I like Wufei's character and...erm...am very attached to a drawing on a piece of paper. *sweatdrop* My point is that Wufei's character is deeper than fans will allow...and that said character is cooler than most people will think.
Now on to why in heck I like him. Let's face it...he does everything because of Nataku. Nataku is his wife. So, he does everything because of her...if that isn't sweet of a guy, I don't know what is. ^_^ Also the looks. I mean...just LOOK at him! The eyes *sigh*, the ponytail *sigh*, that BODY! *long, deep sigh* [Ummm...I believe this is an obscure injoke between me and Oni...I think.] Yowl. *_*
Then there is his high sense of honor and justice...virtuous. I like a guy that believes in something, and believing in such his virtues is...well, it's cool! His angst level is so high...great for fictions, y'know? [I mean think about it...family, Nataku, being solitary, why he went on Mariemeia's side in EW...that's a lot of fics!] And his pride. I'm a proud person myself...just ask any of my friends, they'll tell you how proud I am to be Pinoy. ^_____^ It's just fact. And Wufei's pride in being a warrior, in fighting for Nataku, in justice, in his clan...I can't resist.
And his traditionalist ways. Many traditional societies claim that women shouldn't fight. They were made to take care of the house and children. I may not support this...but this was how Wufei was brought up, so he just goes by his beliefs. There is only one strong woman that he ever knew [Nataku], so he thinks that no woman is as strong as her...so they shouldn't fight. It's kind of intersting to see that Meiran died because she thought she was strong...she thought she was Nataku, and invincible. And yet, Wufei believed her, even though she died and he's the scholar. I thought Wufei would see through that, point out that she was invincible...and yet, he called her Nataku from then on in. Wow.
So there you go.