Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

Writer: Yoshiyuki Tomino
Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino
Production House: Sunrise
Review Type: Anime Movie
Status: Completed
Genre: Mecha

Synopsis

Universal Century 0093, 13 years have passed since the events of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. But the foundations of peace are once again threatened by a new Neo Zeon Army led by the infamous Char Aznable! Their ultimate goal is to initiate a nuclear winter upon Earth ushering in a new age of mankind into space. Armed with the state of the art Nu Gundam Mobile Suit, Amuro Ray and the Federation Forces are all that stand against Neo Zeon. Torn between vengeance, duty, and love - The final battle between rivals Char Aznable and Amuro Ray is finally at hand!

Our story begins in the year 0093, 5 years after the First Neo-Zeon War. The Earth Federation, having lost the war, has recovered significantly and has founded a new anti-colonial forces unit dubbed Londo Bell. Over in space and we find an older Char Aznable, reappearing from his own self-imposed exile, declares that he now commands a faction of his own Neo-Zeon movement. This movement seperates itself from others in the past by way of Char's intentions of forcing Earth's people into space through means of an apocalypse. The Earth Federation, having presented this new threat of another war, issues an order for Londo Bell to quell Char's uprising before it can gain any form of support and momentum. After an initial battle, Neo Zeon forces had agreed for a conditional surrender in exchange for the abandoned mining colony Axis, and the Earth Federation forces believe that the crisis had then been averted. Londo Bell forces , however, thought otherwise, and when an asteroid starts to inch its way suspiciously towards Earth their convictions had rang true. With the Neo Zeon forces at an advantageous position, and the Earth Federation too corrupt to hold sway on its own conflicting reasons in reinforcing the Londo Bell forces, the fate of the Earth once again rests on the shoulders of Newtype war hero Amuro Ray and his RX-93 Nu Gundam.


Chibi's Counterattacking Comments

Alright, let's take a step back from the anime perspective for a minute. Usually most movies that were adapted from the silver screen (Miami Vice, Swat, Charlie's Angels, Mission Impossible, and even Transformers and GI Joe to name a few) does not always embodies the essence of its predecessor, and would fall flat through one reason or the other. So the arduous task for Tomino-sensei this time round is not only making a movie from an epic tv series (Mobile Suit Gundam), but to provide a suitable ending to the Char-Amuro rivalry once and for all. There's a reason why I always address him as '-sensei', and throughout all his works, Tomino-sensei has never disappointed me (well maybe a little on F91), and I fully believe that when he's at the helm from the start of a project, the end result will be a product of high quality.

Having a little perspective does help when you're watching this movie, as it is the final chapter in the Universal Century saga (okay okay so F91 was supposed to be the last, but as it was condensed we don't get the full essence of the story, so that doesn't count, right?) . Casual viewers might be entertained based on the action this movie dishes out, but to get the true impact of the events in this movie it helps to have seen at least one Gundam series from the Universal Century timeline (which does NOT mean Gundam Wing, folks). Watching all three of the series (Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta and Double Zeta) and also maybe the OVAs as well, will give you an overview how the main protagonists in this movie ended up as they were, and does give you a bit of historical knowledge on the Earth-Zeon conflict. So when I picked up the DVD to this movie after educating myself with all things Universal Century, I wanted to witness firsthand the conclusion to the Char-Amuro rivalry, and what happens to my two favourite characters of all time in the Gundam franchise.


THIS is truly the epitome of everything I'd hoped and envisioned Gundam to be, one of the classic space operas, tons of realistic characters on an epic scale, with enough action and drama to truly fill the screen. There's also a sense of balance, while the mecha, zipping in and out of frame during the epic battle scenes reminiscent of knights battling in some fairytale epic, does not overpower the impact the characters and their ideologies has on you, where they are essentially the heart of the movie.

The beauty of an animated feature is that there's no excuse for shortcuts or cutting costs, and in this instance it is pretty evident. In a TV series the budget is spread across an entire 50-episode run, but this 2-hour battle royale utilizes it's advantage with fight scenes that are fast flowing and so forceful that it'll blow you away even by today's standards (I watched this way back in '04 and it left my jaw open, which is saying a lot since this movie was released way back in '88). Every single mobile suit is in constant motion, and those that are caught napping would most definitely get blasted to bits by the awesome Sazabi or Nu Gundam. The mecha in this movie were designed by veteran designer Izubuchi Yutaka of Gundam ZZ fame, along with Evangelion's Anno Hideaki on his debut.

Being the story that the Gundam saga (well at least the Universal Century part of the franchise) had been building up to, the action, albeit explosive, is just icing on the cake. Throughout the course of the series, whether as Federation soldiers or rebels, Amuro and Bright had finely tuned senses of right and wrong, so it makes sense why they would be fighting to save Earth, despite the scum who infested it. The opposite could be said of Char, who had always been impatient and overly idealistic. This somewhat confused me since the last time we saw Char he was actually part of the AEUG in the Gryps War, and one of the good guys, but i think looking at the picture painted in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam and Double Zeta, kind of helped me understand how he could even think of committing an act as vile as an asteroid drop. These are strong characters made even better as their conflicting values are put to the test. Personally, what struck me was that despite the unacceptable means, in the end, Char was right.

Obviously, a movie based around the rivalry of two men wouldn't have a certain degree of impact if each of their motives are simply unrealistic enough, but i think Tomino-sensei managed to pull it of in spades. We get the feeling that deep down, Amuro and Char purely detest each other. This is probably down to the frequency of their meetings, where if in real life, Char and Amuro would probably be admirals by now commanding their own fleets against each other, given the years they've lived through fighting each other. They detest each other knowing they're equally matched, they detest each other when they had and lost the object of their affections, Lalah Sune, when she died, a casualty of the One Year War, and they probably detested each other when the situation had them working on the same side (in Zeta Gundam), and they probably hate each other now more than ever. If it was me in the exact same situation I would probably feel the same way.


Onward to the characterization. In my opinion, Char is simply the most captivating anime screen presence period, and is the perfect antagonist. He is so convincing in his cause, and so utterly human in nature, that at times, you find yourself rooting for him, even though his plans are so maniacally despicable. Even though his means are utterly wrong, but his cause is just, and you feel just as much for him as you do his arch nemesis. As Char's speeches and ideals are almost like poetry or even prophecies, it is no wonder otaku quote him to this day. Char is simply one of the(two?) best characters ever created in Gundam, but he's on the wrong side of the battlefield.

As with a Yin, there must be a Yang. In this case, that Yang is Char's nemesis and constant disruptor to his plans, ace pilot Amuro Ray. Having a deep sense of affinity with this character, trying to stay unbiased in my analysis is close to impossible for me. What's not to like about Amuro? He's the embodiment of all that is good and just in this world, full of earnest and well meaning, and truly a hero of his side in the war. Amuro was an unintended hero thrust into the thick of the War, initially, but now it seems that Amuro does have a cause to uphold. I got a bigger sense of purpose from Amuro this time around, and what disappointed me the most throughout the entire Universal Century timeline is that he and Char are not featured more in the other installments (Judau Ashta, pffft). Amuro is the personified contradiction to Char's ideals, and neither would work as well as characters without the other.

If there is one character I hate in Char's counterattack, it's Quess Paraya. Her crass (and ultimately murderous) nature irks me to no end. She might be a glimpse of what Zeon's future holds in store for us in terms of leaders and pilots, but i just could not digest the loli influenced design to her character, and I find the way she fawns over Char is too loli for my taste (for you noobs out there, loli means lolita complex, usually represented in animes as the cute and bubbly little girl character. some might find that appealing, i just think it's downright disturbing). The ultimate in childish ignorance is when she has just destroyed her father's ship (with her father aboard) and mutters something to the effect of, 'Ooops, I accidentally blew up dad.' To her the war is a game, and nothing makes me hate her more than this tiny little fact.


Probably the only bad thing i have to say about Char's counterattack is the lack of cameos. Sure certain key characters do get reacquainted with Amuro and Char like Bright Noa, but i was pretty curious to see some old pilots like Camille and Judau, or even Char's sister Sayla and how they had been holding up. I guess that's just wishful thinking as those characters could only be seen in their respective sagas (Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta and Double Zeta).

In conclusion, this is a movie made for Gundam fans, and gives you a little sense of closure to the Char-Amuro rivalry, coupled with the harsh reality of war. In the midst of all the action, there really is something to be said about this movie, and how space, in the future, can be a graveyard of the lost just like the battlefields here in Earth. It is actually a movie that forces you to think about ideals and beliefs and wonder if they're really worth holding on to when all they seem to lead to is self-destruction.


Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack is a breathtaking look at what Gundam truly is, a very human saga that spans the breadth of human emotion and experience. This is a true classic of mecha cinema, and as such, is one of the best of anime. Gundam fans, please watch this, as I think this movie puts to rest the longtime debate between the old and new school Gundam freaks arguing about which is better, the Universal Century sagas or the new alternate universe counterparts. My vote, clear as day, is in the former.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack was written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by Sunrise. It was released in theaters in March 1988, running approximately 125 minutes. A manga was released running from September 1988 to January 1999, spanning 1 volume, and was also written by Yoshiyuki Tomino.



Chibi's Review


Storyline: 5/5
Character Development: 3/5 (what's to develop? you already know the pilots!)
Art: 5/5
Originality: 5/5