CXCI: "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack"

Returning to the sides they are known for, the movie Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack revisits the historic rivalry of the One Year War veterans, but it also dwells deeper into the newtype character the original Mobile Suit Gundam started. Chronologically, this carried on after the events of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ and precedes the more recent Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.

After the Neo Zeon conflict ended, Gundam ZZ heroes Judau Ashta and Roux Louka venture to Jupiter with his sister Leina. AEUG is no longer active, but conflict still lurks. The year is UC 0093. Returning to the menace known as the Red Comet, Char Aznable, who went by the alias Quattro Bajeena during his days with AEUG, returns to take up the helm of Neo-Zeon, launching a war for independence much like how the Principality of Zeon did in the days of old. However, the EFSF was prepared for such a measure one day, giving rise to the anti-insurgent force known as Londo Bell. Watched over by the Federatioon during the events of Z Gundam, Amuro Ray has since returned to the pilot seat, regaining the skills that made him the One Year War hero. Now, he serves as the Lieutenant of a mobile suit team from Londo Bell's flagship: Ra Callium. After encountering the Jagd Doga and Char's new red powerhouse, the funnel-wielding Sazabi, the ace flies to the moon, gaining the titular mobile suit he largely designed himself: the RX-93 v-Gundam (pronounced Nu Gundam), armed with the psychoframe and funnels to rival Char. While the threat of Axis is till a major plot device, for the two newtypes, it's more than that. Part of the battle revolves around the death of Lalah Sune, a person that mattered to both of them. Despite that Lalah died in the act of sacrifice, Char condemns Amuro and wants to kill him for revenge. Among Amuro's allies, Bright Noa returns as Londo Bell's commander and the captain of Ra Callium, with his son Hathaway as a pilot. The newtypes go toe-to-toe once more, with the fate of Earth at stake...


Char's Counterattack returns the 3 iconic characters to their respective sides, and features new mecha, including what's considered to be the mass production Zeta Gundam, the Re-GZ. Before Gundam Unicorn surfaced, this was to conclude the UC storyline, as the series Mobile Suit Gundam F-91 proceeded years after. Hathaway Noa takes a heel turn in the film, with his plot further stretched out as EFSF's enemy in Hathaway's Flash, a novelization succeeding Char's Counterattack, which starts in the year UC 105, after the events of this novel series. In this film, which lasts for almost an hour and a half, the voices of Amuro, Bright, and Char are reprised from their original roles, consisting of Brad Swaille, Chris Kalhoon, and Michael Kopsa respectively. The studio behind this is Sunrise, and was released for the US August of 2002. Around January the following year,, it made its television debut on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on the Saturday block. Before the release of Z Gundam years later, this was to mark not only the supposed end to the Universal Century timeline (prior to Gundam Unicorn), but also marked the end of the first incarnation of the Saturday Adult Swim Action block, as they changed afterward.

Char's Counterattack brought the legendary rivals back on opposing sides, and scores an 8 of 10. A few differences were minor, but as opposed to the novelization, it ended with the fates of those two in a cliffhanger. Nonetheless, it is a title that found its fanbase.