Char vs Amuro: Char's Counterattack

You’re pathetic!

–Amuro Ray

Me?!

–Char Aznable

1 / 3 - Char’s Counterattack is not so simple

Since watching Macross Plus I’ve been fascinated by the hatred two people can hold for each other. There’s a specific kind of low and spiteful hatred, and when it’s strong enough it corrupts beyond the two individuals. I find it particularly compelling as it manifests in giant robot battles. The giant robots elevate the personal conflicts to something of grander proportion, and the scale of mecha duels symbolize the strength of the emotions within the characters, as their anger and frustration destroys everything around them when they unleash it on each other. As with Isamu and Guld, the destructive bond between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable bleeds into their relationships and infects their goals.

Char’s Counterattack can seem on the surface to be a simple story. Char Aznable returns, taking his place as the supreme leader of Neo Zeon. He has left hiding and risen from the background to become a supervillain, complete with a plan to drop a massive asteroid (a massive asteroid stuffed with nukes) on Earth to cause a nuclear winter. The depth ascribed to him usually cites his motivations, to force people to live in space and evolve into Newtypes, thus spurring human evolution forward. This is a classic twist on villains, to give them a noble goal that they go too far to achieve. Even this is an oversimplification.

Char gives a speech to Neo Zeon about seizing power from the Federation

Amuro Ray is changed too. He fought reluctantly in the past and struggled to connect with his allies and his cause. Where was once a boy who put off friends with paranoia is a true hero. He’s matured into an adult in every sense of the word. Amuro will sacrifice anything to prevent another mass killing. Amuro tells his lover as he prepares for his final sortie: "I'm prepared to give my life to end his." But look again, he’s not talking about Char’s plan; he’s talking about Char himself.

The complication here is that Amuro and Char hate each other, and that distracts them from their high minded goals. They’ve hated each other for fourteen years. Char and Amuro loved the same girl, who sacrificed herself to save Char from Amuro’s killing blow. After fighting on opposition during the One Year War, they fought together against the corruption in the Earth Federation. Fourteen years of struggle and neither one seems any closer to their shared goal of a better society for humans in space. Three wars fought and millions dead, the Federation is still corrupt, still clinging to Earth. Humanity pollutes its home and refuses to push beyond its limitations. The sins and losses grow. Char and Amuro both feel the burden of so much sacrifice for no result. The past wars explain two things about Char’s plan: “Why now?” and “Why at all?” Char himself explains “Why me?”

“Someone has to shoulder all the evils of humanity”

Char being accurately labelled a “supervillain” is countered by two facts. The first is that Char doesn’t do what he does because he wants to, he does them because he feels he has to. Throughout his life, he’s felt, expressed, and carried out his perceived burden of destiny. He even reaches out to Amuro, thinking “I'm doing something extremely wicked. If you're nearby, feel my presence.” Over the course of the film, he will take many opportunities to sabotage his own plan.

The second is that despite his drive to his higher calling, deep down his conflict is with Amuro Ray. The complexity of Char’s Counterattack is that no single layer of Char or Amuro is sufficient to fully explain their actions or character. They’re not as simple as “Char wants to evolve humanity” or “Amuro is a hero” or “Char and Amuro hate each other.” All of these things are true, but no one statement is enough to explain them. Their traits don’t all play a significant role in the plot, and they stray far enough from archetypes to be reduced to any. These characters are fully realized people, which is a challenging feat for a film with so much happening. I will try to unpack Char and Amuro and give a fuller picture of who they are than one viewing would.

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For a man who thinks that way, you were awfully cold to Quess.

–Char Aznable

I'm not a machine. I couldn't be a father figure to Quess!

Is that it? Is that why you used Quess like some kind of machine?

–Amuro Ray

2 / 3 - How Char and Amuro interact with others

The rivalry between the two is rooted in what they share. They both loved the Newtype Lalah Sune, who showed them what the future of humanity could be. They both believe in the psychic connection people can share in space. They both hate each other for causing Lalah’s death. And they hate each other because as much as they share, neither understands the other. The best way, then, to illustrate their characters is to show how they deal with the same trauma and people and situations.

“Disingenuous” would be the word I would use to characterize Char’s interactions with others. In all of his interactions, Char is self serving and will say and do anything to get what he needs out of those under him. This trait can be traced back through all of his appearances. Char is likeable, smooth, and cool and everyone from Garma Zabi, Nanai, Quess, to all of Neo Zeon are loyal to him. Char feigns reliance and love to them and betrays each one. Garma Zabi is the first, all the way back in the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Garma was part of the family that killed Char’s father and sent his family into exile (though Garma is loyal to Char personally until his end). In the One Year War, Char’s revenge was understandable, if not sympathetic. This contrasts his relationship to his followers in this film: Nanai has never given Char anything but love and loyalty, Quess would die for him, Neo Zeon follows him even in a plan to drop the asteroid Axis on the Earth. With each lie to his allies, Char reveals how little he values them beyond what they can do for him.

Amuro Ray, on the other hand, means well. I say “means well” because in most of his human interactions he fails pathetically. When Quess and Hathaway are taken aboard the Ra Cailum, Amuro immediately tries to mentor them.  Because he lacks Char’s charisma and is perhaps more abrasive than an average person, he can’t actually make an impact on others’ lives. Amuro is ignored, or his guidance frustrates and pushes the children further away. He takes Quess and Hathaway out for a drive and Quess betrays him and leaves with Char. He tries to talk Hathaway out of following Quess after she has defected to Neo Zeon, loses his temper, and walks away. Even his current lover, Chan, notices how he can become cold whenever he’s preoccupied. Amuro has nothing to gain for himself out of these interactions, yet immediately tries to be kind. He’s experienced the same loss and seen the same corruption and tragedy as Char but he still tries to help people genuinely, even if he fails.

Amuro wakes Chan after a long journey

Furthermore, Amuro is the same person to everyone. He gives his true thoughts freely (to Hathaway, Bright, Chan) even when it hurts them, as when he tells Chan he’ll give his life to kill Char. Chan is upset by this and he says “Now you know how I feel.” The next time he sees her he apologizes for talking like that. His relationship with Chan is perhaps the most underplayed. His tone of voice with her particularly gives away his true feelings. He speaks warmly and softly. It’s easy to miss that when Amuro is pictured in the background he is often with Chan, talking or holding hands. Amuro spends his last moments with Chan before boarding his Gundam for his final sortie. To contrast, Char’s last interaction with Nanai is to tell her to “stop interfering.”

Char’s relationship with Quess Paraya makes her character important to the film. As an incredibly sensitive Newtype, Quess is an obvious echo of Lalah. However, neither Char nor Amuro really like her. Nobody likes Quess besides Hathaway (including nearly everyone who’s seen Char’s Counterattack). Quess is hated, and rightfully so, but she is instrumental to Char. The shift in Char’s attitude is subtle. When Char first picks Quess up, she begins oversharing like the obnoxious teenager she is. Char is pleasant, as a leader ought to be, but in the disinterested way one might say “Cool. Uh huh. Interesting.” to a boring story. After Quess demonstrates her Newtype ability and piloting talent, Char becomes interested and grooms her to pilot his most powerful weapon. Char will not only manipulate a child, but he is able to fake romantic interest in an annoying child.

A unique aspect of Char’s Counterattack is that it doesn’t have character development in the sense that Char and Amuro change throughout the movie. The development is the peeling back of their layers. Amuro is complex, but honest. His struggle between heroic traits and social imperfections is static throughout the film. Char begins as a regal leader, giving speeches to his fleet as his body is projected larger than a cruiser. He grandstands to Amuro that "It's Char Aznable's destiny to enforce discipline." His pettiness is slowly revealed throughout the movie. He holds back against Amuro in their first battle and leaks critical Psycoframe technology to the Federation forces, both of which undermine Neo Zeon’s cause. He tells Quess that he’ll forget about Nanai and Lalah and love only her so she will pilot for him. He has a mirrored scene with both Quess and Nanai where he tells each of them what they need to hear to do what he wants, and as they look away he narrows his gaze and says to himself, “good girl.” When he is alone, Char shows the audience that to him, everyone is a tool to enable his revenge on Amuro and his punishment of humanity. When he reaches his end, the facade of grand leader is gone.

“Remember the pain you suffered when you killed Lalah!”

These dual goals of petty revenge and grand judgment again show the branch in Char and Amuro’s characters. When Amuro must choose between his mission and getting even with Char, he chooses his mission. When Char must choose, his revenge always comes first. Both characters have a different method of revenge. Amuro is perfectly willing to kill Char, as when he draws a gun on him in a fist fight, or when he holds nothing back in their fights. For Char, revenge is not Amuro’s death (which he passes up many times) or even the success of his plan (which he sabotages). It’s to face Amuro on equal grounds and prove his superiority, as Char tells him, "It would be a hollow victory if you had a second-rate mobile suit.”

As Char’s plans fall apart he becomes more erratic, mixing his philosophical and political speeches with exhortations to Amuro to see what he sees and raging to Amuro about what he’s lost. The composed Char who puppeteers his allies and enemies is just a mask he sheds when he’s alone. Despite instigating the plot of the film, Char is directionless. Amuro is as frustrated with Char as Char is with Amuro, but he never compromises his mission for revenge. Amuro is willing to kill Char to stop him, but he exits their final duel three times to stop Axis from falling instead. For as much as Char berates Amuro for being “just a pilot” and being subservient to corrupt politicians, Amuro’s sense of duty is stronger than Char’s, regardless of either’s beliefs.

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Those ignorant people are just taking advantage of your powers!

–Char Aznable

Think so?!

–Amuro Ray

3 / 3 - How they feel about each other

The irony of Char and Amuro’s relationship is that despite the fact that they are the foremost Newtypes of their time, they exemplify the repeated failure of Newtypes to connect deeply with others. Though the next stage in human evolution was promised to produce people who can feel each other deeply and understand each other without speaking, Amuro and Char do a lot of speaking and very little understanding. It’s easy to see why so many people watching Char’s Counterattack find the characters’ motivations and changes from their previous appearances in Zeta Gundam confusing, because Char and Amuro are confused too.

Amuro and Char grew to deeply respect each others’ abilities as soldiers during the One Year War. They fought together in Zeta Gundam both to defeat the corrupt branch of the Federation known as the Titans, but also to set its government on the path to respecting the colonies and the Earth. Amuro admired Char for his willingness to give up his own personal freedom to be a political force for this end. Char’s selfless actions during their time as allies allowed Amuro to forgive him for contributing to Lalah’s death. In Char’s Counterattack, Amuro can’t understand why Char has changed his methods. Every time they meet Amuro demands that Char explain himself. On some level, Amuro knows it himself, because when asked by Bright Noa he says that in his time as an ally, Char grew to truly hate the humans of Earth.

“They say love and hate are two sides of the same coin.”

This bond that they share is the undercurrent of the rivalry. As Char tells Nanai “Those who are too alike end up hating each other.” What Amuro mistakes for disdain as Char says “Unlike you, Amuro, I'm more than just a pilot!” is Char’s disappointment that Amuro doesn’t take a place of leadership. But Char’s assessment itself is wrong. Amuro’s radio speech to Char about political revolutions shows that Amuro’s place in the Federation isn’t out of lack of understanding or higher ideals. Amuro’s rejection of Char’s methods is not because he doesn’t also have aspirations for humanity, and he proves himself to be more than just a pilot by rallying both Federation and Neo Zeon pilots to help push back Axis. Amuro’s relatively passive position is an explicit choice, as he tells Char, “"I'm not as impatient as you! I can wait for humanity to learn and grow!”

Char can’t wait. After seeing everything he has, Char has lost hope and his attitude is resignation. Every moment of determined resolve Char has publicly is undermined by something he thinks to himself or says to Amuro. He tells Gyunei he cares about Neo Zeon, but his plan to drop Axis on Earth doesn’t actually benefit Neo Zeon. He never discusses plans for after the drop except when Nanai forces him to, and then only to placate her into following orders. He cuts off Amuro’s political speech by saying “I'm not planning to change the world!” Char’s plan is self destruction. With his inconsistent goals and confusing declarations to Amuro, it’s clear that Char’s actions are compulsive. He needs to be in situations where he can confront Amuro and he needs to drop Axis and he needs to manipulate people and he needs to wallow in his suffering. Char has become a confusing mass of his worst tendencies. Char is basically running on autopilot, but Amuro can’t see it. He attributes Char’s behavior to arrogance and looking down on other people. When Nanai reminds Char of his past he remembers losing Lalah Sune in a confrontation with Amuro. He narrates over his flashback, “Oh, I wanted you to guide me.” Everyone, even Amuro, thinks that Char is a passionate and resolved revolutionary, but what he is is truly lost.

Char’s renewed fixation on Lalah Sune leads to a confusing final exchange between him and Amuro. Char tells Amuro “Lalah Sune was a woman who may have become a mother to me.” which leaves Amuro and most audience members dumbstruck, and it is immediately followed by the Psycoframe resonance destroying them both. Although this seems like it comes from nowhere (and contradicts his romantic relationship with Lalah when she was alive), this line reinforces a few important parts of Char’s personality and his relationship with Amuro.

“Oh, I wanted you to guide me.”

Firstly, this line comes after Char and Amuro are talking about being a father figure to Quess, how neither could effectively mentor her. When Char says that Lalah could be like a mother to him, what he means is that she could guide him, because of the wisdom she had as a Newtype. Both Amuro and Char believe that humanity’s evolution into Newtypes is the key to its survival, and Lalah Sune is the character who most exemplified the deep connections that Newtypes could make with others. After Char’s flashback to Lalah he finishes his introspection with “All because she could tap into people's thoughts.” Char is aimless at least partially because he lost Lalah, who could have steered him on a better course.

The next thing this exchange shows is, again, how much is missing in Amuro’s understanding of Char. Amuro, who didn’t need Lalah to align his moral and ideological compass, doesn’t understand what Char means by thinking of her as a mother figure. The final thing is that for all of their conflict, and bond, and Newtype gifts, Char and Amuro can’t get past their conceptions of the other to understand who the other really is. For Newtypes to be defined by their ability to understand each other without speaking, after 14 years and a lot of speaking, the irony of their inability to connect is no stronger than in their final moments. Even with the “human wills concentrated,” and their powers at their peak, and the most impressive example yet of Newtype abilities happening around them, Char Aznable and Amuro Ray manage to fail the core of what Newtypes are purported to be.

The aftermath of Char and Amuro’s final duel

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“That's why we have to show the world the light of the human heart!”

–Amuro Ray

4 / 3 - What they mean to me and the film

It’s easy to forget about applicability with genre fiction. Despite the split focus between character drama and giant robot action, Char’s Counterattack, and its characters in particular demonstrate a few important parts of human experience. In particular, Char and Amuro portray a complex manifestation of hatred. You might have someone that annoys you, or who is mean, or who is boring, and you try to avoid them because they make you unhappy. But you might know someone who makes you unhappy, but instead of avoiding them you seek them out. This relationship is what Char and Amuro have. They hate each other, but they are drawn to each other because they need things from each other. They need to understand each other, and they can only relate to aspects of their past with each other. So their hate brings them closer and closer together. Char and Amuro show one of my favorite examples of the very relatable experience of being frustrated by someone and resenting them but still being drawn to them despite the unhappiness they bring to your life. Hatred can be much different than a strong dislike, a bond deeper than friendship and love.

Char and Amuro reflect one of the thematic underpinnings of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise up to this point. In Gundam, as in reality, people make the same mistakes with new generations, and children are saddled with the mistakes of those that came before them. Lessons that are learned by society are often forgotten. Despite the good in the world, tragedy and evil and suffering persist. Char and Amuro are grappling with the same emotions and thoughts I had as a viewer coming into the movie with, wondering why everyone continues to try when every victory is a prelude to another tragedy as great as the last. In their personal lives too, Char and Amuro have both oscillated between failure and triumph. In Char’s Counterattack they demonstrate two of the responses people can take. Char has given up, he has succumbed to a fatalism about his life and the state of humanity. He can’t see any step forward except to take the most extreme path. Amuro has reacted differently, as he’s resolved to continue to believe in the goodness of people and the hope that with time they will get better in small steps.

Both of these responses are understandable. The movie is ambiguous as to whose approach is “correct.” Amuro manages to rally the Federation and Neo Zeon pilots to push back Axis, but there is no promise that the aversion of apocalypse will change the course of humanity. I often feel similarly conflicted and ambiguous feelings about my own life. Everyone will face trial after trial, with good times replaced with bad, and repeat the same mistakes. Everyone has to ask themselves, either consciously or implicitly, if they can weather the challenges and heartache of life or if they want to drop a meteor on the earth. Metaphorically.

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Nu Gundam isn’t just for show!

–Amuro Ray

This final section isn’t and can’t be a tidy summary of Char and Amuro’s characters and relationship in Char’s Counterattack. They’re too complicated for me to reduce to something so clean. This complexity is why I found them compelling enough to explore and share. That this movie can combine such nuanced, human characters with giant robots and a military science fiction epic is why I find Char’s Counterattack so fascinating. My goal is to give new perspectives or substantiate and refine perspectives that already exist on these characters. Watch this movie, and if you already have, watch it again. You’ll probably see something you didn’t notice before.