Char’s Counterattack takes place several years after the Gryps conflict in both Zeta and Double Zeta Gundam. Char Aznable uses his immense political influence garnered in Zeta to take control of the Neo-Zeon movement but make it more in line with his father, Zeon Rem Daikun, ideological vision. In order to counter this insurgency, the Earth Federation creates a task force called Londo Bell with pilot Amuro Ray and former commander of the White Base, Bright Noa, at the helm. The iconic rivalry is sparked once again as Amuro and Char fight for the fate of the Earth.
Unfortunately, the grandiosity of the premise is lost in this two-hour long movie. There are so many problems with the writing, more specifically the pacing. We are introduced to characters at a breakneck speed, not being able to truly learn about their personality and their motivations. Moments that are supposed to be emotionally impactful are merely glossed over as the film callously transitions to the next scene. The editing of this movie is very poor, to say the least. Every scene transitions at something of a frantic pace where it becomes very easy to lose track of events occurring.
A large portion of the movie is dedicated to exposition. I would estimate around 40 to 50 percent of the film is just characters recounting events. As opposed to showing us what happened to Char during his five-year retreat, we are told what happens to him. Anime is a visual medium first and foremost. As opposed to a character telling us what happened, we should be able to see what happens in the form of flashbacks or some imagery associated with the dialogue. The lack of visuals during these sometimes emotional exposition scenes creates an emotional disconnect with the events that preceded the film. This, in turn, makes any changes that the characters go through due to those events lacking gravitas.
The only thing that saves this film from being a total disappoint, has to be the last 20-30 minutes of the film. In typical Tomino fashion, the finale is packed with emotional resonance, drama, tension, and despair. The fight scenes are well choreographed, the music suiting each scene. The finale is arguably the clearest and concise part of the movie. It felt as though it is the only part of the movie that Tomino really got to convey all the themes of Gundam in a grandiose yet poignant conclusion. It is a shame that this level of talent was displayed in the other portions of the film. In the end, this felt like a movie of compromises as opposed to someone’s unfiltered artistic vision.
The animation is beautiful and still holds up remarkably well even today. There were no reused scenes like in most Gundam series and it maintains a very crisp look. I appreciate the character designs even more when compared to how goofy some anime characters look today. The battle scenes were phenomenal and truly captured the chaos of the battlefield.
I would argue that the worst part of this film has to be the inclusion of new characters. None of them are remotely interesting and represent the worst of the archetypes scene in Gundam. Quess being the most flagrant offender in all of this. Her character seems so erratic that everything she does isn’t based on any logic and is rather done on a whim. She has no strong convictions and when the film tries to proclaim she does, it comes off as shallow. She has no moral framework for any of her actions and behaves with reckless abandon for everything and everyone around her. There isn’t enough time for the film to establish her character so she becomes a bland and more revolting outline of Reccoa from Zeta Gundam. A character who, without an in-depth look into her personality would have been the ultimate dramatic contrivance. Quess succumbs to that fate. Gyunei is basically Kamille with all the interesting contradictions and personality removed. He adds nothing to the film and is just a stand in for Kamille.
Some people take issue with how Char has been characterized in this film. Frankly, I think his character is the glue that holds this film together. Nothing Char does is out of character when you look at his past behavior in other series. Char has always been selfish and manipulative. What he does in this film is nothing different from the norm. There are moments in this film where we are able to look closer into Char’s mind than ever before. We get to learn his true feelings on Amuro, Lalah, the war and his responsibility to maintain his father’s legacy and how it weighs down on him. All the series combine and result in the complex layering of Char’s character that is present in this film. It is a shame we do not get enough time with the product of all this development and characterization. I can understand why people have an issue with Char’s seemingly radical change in character. It is because we do not see what led up to him rekindling this conflict. This disconnect is what makes people think that Char’s character was defiled in some way. The tragedy of this is, if there was a build up to him establishing Neo-Zeon there would not have been an issue.
This film is a major disappointment. This is not a worthy send-off to the most iconic rivalry in anime. The only thing saving this film from utter disaster is the finale and even that cannot erase the entirety of this film. If you are a fan of the Gundam Series, more specifically the Universal Century line, you will be immensely disappointed. However, I would still recommend this film so there can be some semblance of closure.
