Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

 Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア) is a theatrical movie set in the main story line of the Gundam franchise.  Directed by series creator Tomino Yoshiyuki, the movie was originally released in 1988.

    In the year 0093,  the Neo Zeon forces have rallied around Char Asnable following the death of Haman Kahn during the events of Double Zeta.  The Earth Federation has created a special Zeon hunting division called Londo Bell, which includes the expertise of both Amuro Ray and Bright Noa.  After they fail to stop Char's plan to drop an asteroid on Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, the Federation sets up a secret meeting with officials from Neo Zeon to forge a peace treaty.  Federation Vice Minister Adenauer Paraya ends up being transported to the meeting on Londo Bell's flag ship, the Ra Cailum.  By pure chance Brights son, Hathaway ended up on their shuttle flight and follows them onto the Londo Bell ship.  On the ship Amuro is preparing a brand new mobile suit, the Nu Gundam, developed using psychoframe technology.

    At the secret meeting, Neo Zeon pledges to relinquish their weaponry in exchange for the ability to purchase the derelict remains of the Axis asteroid.  Their true intent is to fake the disarmamement and use the Federations forces distraction as a way to drop Axis onto Earth, triggering explosions for hidden nuclear warheads, hoping to make the planet uninhabitable for humans.  Quess, in a spat of rebeliousnes, runs away and willingly joing Neo Zeon, under the watch of Char.  He senses in her a strong Newtype potential, perhaps rivaling Lalah Sune's abilities.  As the final conflict begins, with the betrayal at the disarmament, Bright and the forces of Longo Bell jump into action.  What starts as an attempt to secure victory for Zeon and spacenoids turns into a continuation of the deeply personal conflict between Char and Amuro.  Amuro, representing benevolence, shows great empathy for those around him, wishing to protect them.  Char on the other hand, representing malevolence, uses those around him as tools, with little regard for their safety and continued existence.  How much of an impact will their final battle have on the future of humanity on Earth and in space?

    The first original theatrical release for the franchise as it approached its 10 year anniversary pulls out all of the stops to cap off the core story as it looks to move into the future of the Universal Century.   The story doesn't waste any time in its just shy of two hour run time getting to the meat of the story.  Unfortunately it does a really bad job of filling in the gaps of what happened in the five year gap following the conclusion of Double Zeta.  How did Char go from the benevolent hero of AUEG to taking on the leadership role of Neo Zeon and shift from being tolerant of Amuro to plotting the extinction of humanity on Earth for revenge on him killing Lallah?  They barely explain the formation and purpose of Londo Bell...like barely.  It would take a few years and the release of Stardust Memories to explain the gap in time between OG and Zeta and also fill in a few bits of information needed in Chars Counterattack.  As we approach the 30 year mark since this movie first came out it feels like we will never get the same story spun up to fill in the gap between this and Double Zeta.  There was a novel written by Tomino called Beltorchika's Children that apparently fills in some of those gaps...but we need an anime project!!

    This is pure gas, sprinkling in barely enough context in-between and during the combat to make it make sense.  Its pace is frantic and sometimes confusing.  Some of the characters decisions conflict with the way they acted earlier...and some of the characters are questionable in general.  Quess is incredibly easy to hate and her ridiculously juvenile decisions are almost laughable.  Whats even more perplexing is how all the adults around her, on the Zeon side, are like...lets go!!!!!!  Someone really should have contacted child protection services.  Hathaway was more reasonable as a young teenager but Quess....terrible, just terrible and unbelievable.  To this pint still, the only reasonable and likeable character really is Bright.  Amuro is too deep into his hatred of Char and its confounding how all the women throw themselves at him consistently.  Char's Counterattack greatly fails the Bechdel test.  But it does a good job of closing this chapter of the Universal Century even if it once again leans heavily into the mystical aspects of being a newtype.  Gundam really needs to shrug off the space wizard crap.

Char's Counterattack is currently available on Crunchyroll. 

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

 Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ) Is a 47 episode continuation of the Universal Century timeline of the franchise and a direct sequel to Zeta Gundam.  The series originally aired In the Spring of 1986 and the Winter of 1987.

    Directly following the events of Zeta Gundam, Bright and the crew of the Argama head to Side One to try and get Kamille medical attention due to his mental breakdown.  The ship is also in desperate need of repairs as well following the final conflict with the Titans and Axis Zeon.  Axis, rebranding its self as Neo Zeon, sends agents to the colony to attack them and in a moment of desperation Noah enlists a scrappy group of kids who initially tried to steal the Zeta Gundam to sell for parts.  Instead one member of the group, Judau, shows strong newtype potential and begins to pilot the the Gundam, helping them escape.  After establishing contact with the La Vie en Rose, they receive upgrades that allow them to modify the Zeta into the ZZ Gundam, including multiple core fighters docking together.  The Argama is directed to attack Axis with a new prototype ship cannon which devastates the base.  In the confrontation Judau encounters a strange girl named Ple who appears to be another subject of Murasume labs artificial newtype project.

    Unknown to the crew of the Argama, Neo Zeon is plotting a take over of the Federation through coercion and false cooperation.  This is being done under the guise of the last surviving Zavi, Minevah, through her regent Haman Kahn.  The crew of the Argama foils her plans and Haman retaliates by dropping a colony on Dublin.  To end it once and for all AUEG heads back into space, planning to take down Neo Zeon from inside their stronghold.  Dissatisfaction with its subjects comes to a boil and in the chaos the final show down commences with personal grievances clouding everyone's judgment.  If Haman is killed will that really put an end to the ambitions of those trying to revive the shadow of the Zabi?

    This series was a stark contrast, in the beginning to the darkness of Zeta.  It took on a very cartoonish tone that appeared to revert back to a childish target audience of the first series.  At the half way point some brutality and intense mental anguish begins to seep in but too many of the story threads and characters were terribly designed.  Up to this point Gundam as a whole has had a problem with regurgitating plot lines.  Double Zeta does what it name suggests doubles up on repeating many of the plot based character interactions we saw in Zeta...which its self had a hard time not copying aspects of the original Gundam.

    I really disliked this series and felt it was a huge waste of my time.  Many of the characterizations treated the viewer as an idiot.  Chara Soon in particular destroys a lot of Gundam's efforts to not tie its self to current times by taking on a completely 80's sense of fashion.  She also has the most boggling personality traits...  Then the introduction of Ple...which feels like little more than an attempt to explore Four Murasume in greater depth, but only becomes a weird parasite attaching its self to Judau.  Then they do it again with a clone...and then theres some concept that Ple is also responsible for Chara's change in personality at the end of the series?  I was a huge mess and did a disservice to the franchise that had shifted into an interesting angle with the previous series.  I really hated this story and its characters... 

Gundam ZZ is available currently on Crunchyroll.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

 Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζガンダム) is a 50 episode continuation of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series.  It originally aired on TV in 1985 and 1986.

     Set in UC 0087, after the events of Operation Stardust, the Earth Federation has become a bit more authoritarian in it's governance.  Zeon is but a distant memory of the scattered veterans of the One Year War but a new threat arises from. the ashes.  A group called AEUG has been stirring trouble across the colonies, inviting acts of terrorism against the Federation.  A new paramilitary arm of the Federation known as the Titans is aimed at crushing the terrorist anywhere they can.  When AEUG attacks a Titan stronghold to capture their new Gundam units a rebellious teenage boy named Kamille becomes enmeshed in their plans.  A ploy designed to trick the boy and AEUG into returning the stolen Gundams while wiping them out at the same time fails as their treachery unravels and Kamilles parents die as a result.  Finding himself an orphan with a burning vendetta against the Titans he chooses to remain with the terrorists as they enact their next plan back on Earth.

    A strange set of circumstances brings some of the members of the legendary White Base to work hand in hand with their greatest rival during the One Year War.  Char Aznabel fled into the depths of space after his defeat, along with the remnants of the Zeon army.   With all of the Zavi adults dead, the last hope of their lineage rule is thrust upon the infant Mineva.  Loyalists to the Zavi family and the ideology of Zeon bide their time in the shadows.  For unknown reasons Char has assumed an alias and has been working as a member of AEUG, intent on righting the wrongs of the tyrannical Titans and carve out a place of people who live in space to have their freedoms.  The Titan's seize overwhelming power in the Federation an begina brutal campaign of repression, all while trying to destroy AEUG, with Kamille and his unnatural piloting skills a main target.  He, Char and the rest of the crew aboard the Argama find themselves at the center of the conflict and shifting alliances.  When things seem to be going there way the remnants of Zeon make their presence known and through the chaotic battlefront into a dangerous direction.

      The direct sequel to the original Mobile Sit Gundam, Zeta Gundam is a drastically better product in every way.  Sure it has 6 years of financing and residuals to lean into from the original and its theatrical remakes and the growing Gunpla market.  But its also devoid of a lot of the meddling of the originals toy sponsor Clover...which went out of business in 1983.  Unfortunately Zeta, like so many Gundam stories are trapped in regurgitating the outline of the original series.  Kamille is a wholly unlikable protagonist.  Though he does mature over the course of his struggle and is a more rational Newtype than Amuro was.  The story over all is much darker than the original, or even many other later Gundams.  This is a story aimed at the massive adult/teenage fan base that sprung up around the originals repeats and movies.  Zeta is bleak at almost every turn.  Almost all of the characters are deeply broken individuals who grimly go along with the business of murder for ideals.

    Its taken me 30+ years of anime fandom to really crack into the original Gundam story and for a while now my favorite Gundam has been Thunderbolt, but Zeta really made an impression on me.  I will get back to finishing/re-watching Thunderbolt as I make my way through the timeline.  I have focused on the main story lines for the most part and while swing back to the side stories once I watch Hathaway.  But Zeta really struck a chord with me, especially the back half of the story.  Bright Noah may be anime's most patient character...  I write this as I crack into Gundam ZZ...and boy howdy, Bright is a saint.  After this bonanza of Gundam consumption I will have to put together an over all through and tier list of the shows.  But something tells me Zeta is going to be high on the list.  If thats the case, the franchise might have blown most of its load with this story early on.  The plot is dense and intense and just keeps going, I got annoyed with how long it was, but I can't think of a way to shorten the story up and be as impactful.,  At some point I'll have to watch the 3 compilation movies to see if they did it justice.

The series is currently available on Crunchyroll.