Comments on: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (Film)

By: Mr PSb

Mr PSb — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:52:20 +0000

Char’s Counterattack is a must see for fans of the U.C. but mostly because it brings closure to certain aspects of the U.C. saga. Apart from this, I have to agree that many elements in this film seem as rushed as Gundam F91. I believe that one of the reasons that the film falls short of what it could have been, may be because Tomino has been noted to discourage sequels of his work.

I saw no need for him to eliminate Char from ZZ, but he could of cut out all the comedy in the earlier parts of ZZ and use it as a prelude to CC. Much of the questions in CC could have been answered in ZZ and it would have been nice to see cameo appearances from characters that featured in MSG, Z and ZZ as well. I guess, what’s done is done, we can’t re-write animation history but, future Gundam directors can take note.

By: saalon

saalon — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:39:28 +0000

It’s funny, I almost used “Seig Zeon!” as my quote for this one. I only put it aside when I decided it needed more context than I was going to give it in the review. That was a good moment.

By: Brent P. Newhall

Brent P. Newhall — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:07:41 +0000

I’ll add that Char’s Counterattack has my favorite Zeon moment in Gundam. Char’s on a train, conferring with some top-ranking brass, and receives a rose. He looks around in surprise, to see an old lady who sells flowers at the other end of the train; the rose had been passed to him by the other passengers. She smiles sweetly at Char and says, in her shaky, old voice: “Seig Zeon.”

The rest of the passengers take up the cheer, and it literally sent chills down my spine. That’s Tomino at his best.

I enjoyed Char’s Counterattack more than Saalon did, but I share a similar overall opinion: it’s murky and lurches from one plot point to the next, never establishing any of its characters enough for us to really appreciate what they’re doing.

(For an excellent counter-example, see “The Good, The Bad, and The Weird,” a recent Korean film with a large cast, lots of action, and well-developed characters despite dropping us into the story midway through.)