Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gyakushuu no Char

The year is Universal Century 0093. Char Aznable has taken command of Neo Zeon, the rebels of outer space. He firmly believes that humankind can only achieve peace by relocating to space. Thus, he plans to crash the giant asteroid Axis into Earth and plunge the planet into an uninhabitable winter. Char also eagerly anticipates this opportunity to settle a 14-year rivalry with Amuro Ray. The two have been reluctant allies at times, but Char has never forgiven Amuro for causing the death of one of his comrades during the One Year War.

Only the Earth Federation's Londo Bell Unit has the power to stop Char from fulfilling his dangerous goal. Leading the defense of Earth is veteran captain Bright Noa and Amuro Ray with the latest Nu Gundam mobile suit. In this thrilling conclusion to the original Gundam series, Londo Bell engages in a final conflict with Neo Zeon that will decide the fate of Earth and end this long-standing rivalry—once and for all.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:	Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gyakushuu no Char - High Streamer, Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gyakushuu no Char
Prequel:	Kidou Senshi Gundam ZZ
Sequel:	Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn, Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn RE:0096
Summary:	Akai Shouzou: Char, Soshite Frontal e, Kidou Senshi Gundam Unicorn: Episode EX - Hyakunen no Kodoku, Kidou Senshi Gundam: Hikaru Inochi Chronicle U.C.

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Aznable, Char

Main

Ikeda, Shuuichi
Japanese

Ray, Amuro

Main

Furuya, Toru
Japanese

Noa, Bright

Supporting

Suzuoki, Hirotaka
Japanese

Haro

Supporting

Noa, Hathaway

Supporting

Sasaki, Nozomu
Japanese

Sune, Lalah

Supporting

Han, Keiko
Japanese

Yashima, Mirai

Supporting

Shiraishi, Fuyumi
Japanese

Agi, Chan

Supporting

Yayoi, Mitsuki
Japanese

Paraya, Quess

Supporting

Kawamura, Maria
Japanese

Medoz, Astonaige

Supporting

Hiromori, Shingo
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Yatate, Hajime

Producer

Uchida, Kenji

Producer

Ohata, Koichi

Assistant Producer, Mechanical Design

Tomino, Yoshiyuki

Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

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Opening Theme

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Ending Theme

"Beyond The Time ~ Möbius No Sora o Koete (Beyond Möbius' Space)" by TM Network

Reviews

Nov 2, 2023

bboy_OatsnRice

Recommended

This is the direct sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ despite having nothing to do with that series. Instead the story focuses on (coolest of the cool) Char on a mission to remove humans off of Earth with his favorite frenemy Amuro Ray, who's trying to put an end to Char’s mission of eradicating life off of Earth. When watching this film, I watched it the day after I finished ZZ, so the change back into a more serious tone was just as jarring as when I started ZZ. And not just that, but we’re thrown back in the classic, tried and true rivalry between ... our nobel hero Amuro and dashing, and badass Char Aznable. No Judau, no Kamille, and no Saylla though we get Captain. Bright, his son Hathaway, his annoying friend Quess and even a bit of Mirai. In general, this a great cinematic Mobile Suit Gundam experience and I was thoroughly pleased with it, but had it removed certain elements and added others it’d be on a whole other level, but what exactly holds it back for me as a masterpiece and does this film beat out the 46 episode tv-series preceding it?

Starting with the visuals, I was blown away by the fluidity of the animation of all the mobile suits and the combat. The suits and ships were moving and attacking so swiftly, their attacks and movements were like watching a knife cut through butter. The amount of detail that went into both the battles (the movements, the collisions, the explosions) and the mechs/ships (all the intricacies, the wear and tear throughout the battle) was phenomenal. Though I must admit that the human’s took a bit to get used to, looking rather blob-ishly might I add. But over time I grew to appreciate their designs, especially char’s new looks throughout. Though I still prefer the style of the TV series over this one, save for 0079. So even if the story leaves a bit to be desired, or left behind in some cases, then I still suggest that if you're a fan of gundam (especially 0079 or zeta) then you should watch this for the spectacle of these high magnitude battles alone.

So with the visuals being this good, how does the story itself hold up? Well for a story called Char’s Counterattack, featuring thee Amuro Ray I was hoping for the majority of the film to be between those two. And while they do interact, it’s nowhere near the amount I was hoping it would be. It happens a bit at the beginning, a part in the middle, and ultimately peaks at their final confrontation. And I loved both Char and Amuro (though the latter deserved more screen time to better flesh him out, since the last we saw him was only briefly in Zeta) in their individual scenes, their screen time, and the scenes involving what’s going on in the battle’s logistics behind the scenes are forced to give their time to a forced love square between Nanai, Char, Gyunie, Quess. When the only type of love square I wanted to see was between Char, Amuro, Lalah, and the Earth.

As I’ve mentioned earlier we’re introduced to Bright’s son Hathaway, a nice kid who’s made to go on board with father whose task is handling the biggest direct threat known to Earth since Paptimus Scirocco was still alive, for some reason. As well as his friend Quess, who’s father plays an important role in this war, and she’s a newtype who follows Char. Not sure if it was intentional or not, but for the little screen time that Hathaway got I enjoyed his character, can’t say the same for Quess. She’s annoying, narcissistic, and makes every scene she’s involved in quite unpleasant to watch. Despite Quess being a nuisance to the viewer, Hathaway doesn’t think so and spends his energy trying to get her back on the Fed’s side. I wish Quess and her daddy complex was removed from the film entirely, you could also argue that not much would change if you were to remove Hathaway, but even if he’s kind of dumb, he’s a good kid. Plus, Bright slapping him after some much needed correction was one of the most satisfying moments of the film.

There’s other characters and relationships like Amuro’s with Chan or Astoniage with his girlfriend that just feels forced and uninteresting. Speaking of things that are just there for the sake of it, the music does its role in creating a suspenseful atmosphere when necessary, but nothing about it stands out in particular since the majority of the film relies on the ambiance of the environment to set the mood of the scene.

I watched CCA the day after I finished ZZ, so the change back into a more serious tone was just as jarring as when I started ZZ. But unlike many I enjoyed ZZ, and I think ZZ is one of the most subjective entries in the franchise due to its heavy reliance on comedy. Unlike others that rely more on their unique brand of storytelling and general scope of the narrative they present. But is CCA a masterpiece and is it better than ZZ? Firstly, no it’s not, but it could’ve been had it focused on Char and Amuro more than Quess. That’s not to say this is a bad film, in fact this is a marvelous film on the visuals and climax alone. I’d say it’s worth at least two viewings. And lastly, even though I know it’s unfair to rate a two hour long movie to a 46 episode tv series, but I’d give the edge to ZZ since for every annoying or dislikable character it presents, it presents another character whose enjoyment I have for outweighs my dislike towards the characters I don’t care for. Also I prefer the visual aesthetic of the tv-series. But I’d give the edge to CCA in terms of being so epic, not only visually, but also in the story. Since it’s honestly the perfect cap off to the 14 year old rivalry between Char and Amuro. And that’s why I think this film is worth your time, even if it has some issues with the characters, the overall experience is an epic gundam tale of galaxian proportions, that I wouldn’t trade for the sake of Earth.

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Jul 13, 2021

MarsZ11

Mixed Feelings

Overall I liked CCA quite a bit but there are some pretty big flaws with some of the characters and their impact on the story.

PROS: The animation and fight scenes are incredible, and there are a lot of them. Sunrise knew what the fans wanted and the last 30 minutes were just god tier fight scenes with amazing animation, especially compared to the 3 series beforehand. In terms of story, you're thrown into the middle of things which I know some people did not like, but I actually really enjoyed. There's no wasting time on narrating in detail what happened. Instead you quickly ...

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Nov 11, 2018

edarel-triparte

Not Recommended

TL;DR: A well animated very bad written movie that doesn't deserve to exist.

Now, let's see where we are, shall we?
We've seen Gundam 0079, an interesting show that suffered due to budget constraints and a comittee that did not understand what kind of show Tomino and his team wanted to make. However, things changed for good. After the succesful run of the compilation movies everyone and their mom went crazy for Gundam, so Tomino pretty much had a way bigger budget and a green light to do with the next show as he pleased.
So, he made Zeta Gundam, an amazing anime with impactful stories and characters, ... truly one of the best shows in all of Gundam history. He used both the original and new characters to develop meaningful emotions and grow his cast with a not common complexity in anime.
...Then everything went downhill. ZZ Gundam happened, and god knows we don't talk about ZZ Gundam.

So, let's recap, the original show introduced us to the Amuro/Char rivalry. These characters went from enemies to comrades to even some sort of friends in Zeta Gundam. The last thing we knew about Char was how he blew up fighting alongside the AEUG crew against Haman Karn and Neo Zeon, trying to save the earth against plans of mass destruction. So, it totally makes sense that when we meet Char again in this movie suddenly he thinks genocide isn't so bad, he somehow became the leader of Neo Zeon and is 100% ready to drop massive things onto earth like a previous baddie he fought did. *cough Haman Karn cough*

If you think this doesn't make sense, well that's the entire movie, my friend.
The story is total nonsense, there's no character development for any of the old characters or even the new characters, It's not consistent for previously established events or straight up doesn't care. The pacing is horrible. This is the movie for you: There's a space battle at the beginning, then characters talk for a bit. Then there's a new space battle, then characters talk for a bit. And then there's another new space battle and suddenly the movie ends.
That's not the worst part, pacing issues would only be trouble to a certain extent, making the movie mediocre at worst. But no, there are many things more. They only needed to show us the final showdown between Amuro and Char, and what led to it. But instead we got this 30%-40% screentime dedicated to Quess Paraya and the other idiots in this "love" triangle. Hathaway and that other imbecile whose name I already forgot. They serve no purpose to the plot, they serve no purpose to the thematic elements, they serve no purpose to anyone's character development. They just waste precious runtime in a movie that's already way too long and needed more time to flesh out other way more interesting aspects, like Mirai's struggle trying to survive in earth, which just as it is doesn't add anything to the movie and is totally wasted.

Then there's the ending. Oh god what an awful ending. At first i thought it was going to be a nice ending that the movie did not deserve, as I'm someone that enjoys melodramatic events that may not make sense or seem chessy but help drive an emotional message to the viewer, and I thought Amuro dying pushing away Axis with the help of other units was a good end to the character and a fitting message of hope and sacrifice that the film was not worthy of. But then he just sparkles the shit out of everyone and the meteor, we have a brief montage of people on the earth reacting and suddenly the movie ends. There's no actual end to the conflict. Neo Zeon still exists, they just ruined the plan they had in mind. There's no aftermath or closure to talk about. It just stops dead.

This movie does not deserve to exist. It serves no purpose other than being the first Gundam film. Nothing leads to the events of this film. We gain nothing. We've met so many characters thru the first 2 shows. But seems like nobody in the production team cared about them. Char's sister Sayla? She's nowhere to be found. Kamille? No. Apparently all the relationship they developed together during Zeta was not worthy of even being mentioned. So much for being his mentor and father figure I guess. But Quess throwing tantrums about having a crush both on Amuro and Char really deserved the screentime I guess.
I'm starting to think Tomino is just a bad writer/director who just got lucky when making Zeta.

But hey, at least the mechs are cool.

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Haro

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Sune, Lalah

Yashima, Mirai

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Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gyakushuu no Char

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