Gundam Char’s Counterattack: Review + All you Need to Know

Title	Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Director	Yoshiyuki Tomino
Year	1988
Runtime	125 minutes
Rating	★★★★★

Gundam Char’s Counterattack is the fourth installment in the Gundam Universal Century, the franchise’s main timeline.

It’s a masterpiece to all Gundam fans and you should definitely read more to get to know this anime better.

Synopsis of Gundam Char’s Counterattack

Gundam CCA was produced in 1988 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino.

“Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack” features the return of the character Char Aznable as the main antagonist. The story takes place in UC 0093, in which Char Aznable and the Neo-Zeon forces launch an attack against the Earth Federation. Amuro Ray returns again in a final battle against Char to determine the fate of humanity.

The film explores themes of politics, war, and the human condition and works as a sequel to the Gundam Universal Century series.

Review of Gundam Char’s Counterattack

As always, I’ll divide the review in sections and then give the overall score.

Story

The story is phenomenal and gives an end to the major conflicts between the Earth Federation and the Zeon forces (before Gundam Unicorn came out, at least). It’s more mature and delves more on politics, so it’s perfect. 5/5.

Characters

The only flaw in this anime are two characters in it: Hathaway and Quess. I know Gundam always has annoying kids everywhere, but they are too much for me to handle.

Other than that, the characters in general are pretty interesting and it’s nice to see a Gundam show with older characters. But I’ll take out one star for Quess and another one with Hathaway. 3/5.

Animation

Animation in Gundam CCA is one of its major points, since everything was so well done. The budget was very generous, since it’s a movie and not a TV series.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is perfect as expected from most of the Gundam anime. I don’t have much to say other than to give it a 5/5 rating.

Overall

Even having two horrible characters, I can’t give another rating other than 5 stars to this movie. It’s the epic conclusion for the conflict between Amuro and Char and it deserves respect not only from Gundam and mecha fans in general, but to all anime lovers. 5/5

Char motivations in Gundam Char’s Counterattack

Some people may find that Char changed a lot between Zeta Gundam, when he seemed to want peace and respect between factions. In CCA, he’s a dictator who wants to force people to move to space.

What probably happened was due to Char’s trauma after the Gryps conflict in Zeta Gundam. Many comrades died, putting almost an end in both AEUG and the Titans. Flustered, he changed his views and became more radical and facts in the movie happened.

With the ascendance of Neo-Zeon groups, he thought of it as a way to change things in a radical manner, through brute force. He then rose in power in Neo-Zeon factions and wanted to force a change in the world.

With the destruction of earth, people would have to come to space and evolve to become newtypes, creating a new phase in human history.

His views are very similar to extremist views regarding “superior race” concepts, since he wanted people to “evolve”. In the end, he became very much like Gihren Zabi, whom he despised.

Characters from Gundam Char’s Counterattack

Here are the main characters from the movie:

Amuro Ray

The protagonist of the film, he is a skilled mobile suit pilot who pilots the Nu Gundam in the final battle against Char Aznable.

It’s very nice to see Amuro again as an adult, having responsibilities as a mature person – he even gets a girlfriend!

Char Aznable

The main antagonist of the film, he is a charismatic leader of the Neo-Zeon forces who seeks to launch an attack against the Earth Federation.

Char’s motivation may seem unclear to some fans who saw them in Zeta Gundam, but I’ll explain this later on.

Bright Noa

The captain of the warship Londo Bell, he is a skilled leader who helps Amuro and his crew in their battle against Neo-Zeon.

Bright is once again a character. He’s the only character to have a major role on all four first installments in the franchise! It’s good to see a more mature friendship between him and Amuro.

Quess Paraya

A young newtype woman who becomes involved in the conflict between the Earth Federation and Neo-Zeon.

She admires both Char and Amuro as strong characters and has a major role in the story. She somehow develops a romantic interest for Hathaway Noa.

I admit she is a terrible and annoying character…

Hathaway Noa

A young man who is the son of Bright Noa and plays an important role in the story piloting mobile suits alongside Londo Bell.

For me, he’s hands down the worst Gundam character of all UC. Maybe Katz in Zeta Gundam is a close second, but he gets the gold medal.

Chan Agi

A technician from the Earth Federation and potential Amuro’s love interest. She seems like a calm and careful person.

Gyunei Guss

A cyber newtype who follows Char during the conflict. A cold character indeed.

Nanai Miguel

A scientist working to improve newtypes who develops a romantic relationship with Char.

There are other characters from both sides, but I think it’s better to only list the main ones, since the others fill only minor roles.

Negative points of Gundam Char’s Counterattack

Negative points of “Gundam Char’s Counterattack” include:

1. Complicated plot

The plot can be difficult to follow for viewers who are not familiar with the series or the Gundam franchise as a whole. Some concepts such as the use of psycho frame might seem too abstract.

2. Lack of character development for some characters

 Some characters that are not as important to the plot may not receive as much development as others. However, the main four ones (Amuro, Char, Hathaway and Quess) are quite well developed.

3. Some annoying characters

Remember when I talked about Quess and Hathaway having a lot of screen time just now? Yeah, they’re like the worst characters from the whole movie, so it would be nice if we could see other better characters appear more, like Chen or Nanai.

3. Required previous knowledge

To fully understand the movie storyline, it is required to have watched the previous three shows. Maybe you can understand without watching ZZ, but it’s still better if you watch them all.

Positive Points of Gundam Char’s Counterattack:

Positive points of “Gundam Char’s Counterattack” include:

1. Complex and mature story

The film explores themes of politics, war, and the human condition in a sophisticated way – much more than in the previous series, in my opinion.

We see the cult of personality, conspiracies, economical influences and many other things playing a major role in the story.

2. Memorable characters

Many of the characters, particularly Char Aznable and Amuro Ray, are well-developed and memorable. It’s a shame other characters didn’t get much space to grow, but it’s understandable since it’s a movie with limited time.

3. High-quality animation

The film features high-quality animation that is visually striking and detailed. As a movie, it had much more quality overall when compared to the TV series before it.

4. Emotional impact

The film has a strong emotional impact that can resonate with viewers long after the film is over. It’s the final conflict between historical figures and rivals Amuro Ray and Char Aznable!

I think all Gundam fans have this movie as a memorable entry in the franchise.

5. Good Soundtrack

The Soundtrack for the movie is amazing (as expected from the Gundam franchise) and was well received by the audience.

Should I watch Gundam Char’s Counterattack?

So, after all, should you watch it or skip it? For me, the answer is quite clear:

You should definitely watch Gundam Char’s Counterattack, since it’s considered a classic in the Gundam franchise and is well-regarded by fans of the series. It’s better if you already saw the previous series (0079, Zeta and ZZ).

If you are not familiar with the series or the Gundam franchise as a whole, you might have a bit of trouble following the plot and understanding some of the characters motivations and actions.

Main questions from Gundam Char’s Counterattack

Why did Char change his motivations in Char’s Counterattack?

Char probably was shocked with the results of Gryps conflict and became more radical to “solve” the conflicts in humanity. Because of this, he became the leader of a Neo-Zeon group to force humanity’ evolution.

Why did Char want to drop Axis on Earth?

In the movie, Char plans to drop Axis on Earth to evolve humanity. People would be forced to live in space and become newtypes.