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Look, there’s a lot of people out there who might be looking for something romantic to watch on Valentine’s day. Sure, your partner might be puffing their cheeks, saying something about how their friends are having rooftop dinners against dazzling skylines. But reservations were full.
When planning the at-home-date, you want to pick something special and romantic. When Harry Met Sally? Rubbish. Titanic? Water snuffs out romance faster than it does passengers on a luxury liner mocking God. Notting Hill? Ok that one’s actually pretty good but it doesn’t have giant robots.
Instead, consider the pinnacle of romantic movies this Valentine’s- Char’s Counterattack. Even if you’re not into romance, you’ll want to give this story about passion and destiny a go to make your Valentine’s Day absolutely spectacular.
Some might find it outrageous that I’d suggest Char’s Counterattack for Valentine’s Day of all things. Technically, it’s the closing of a long arc, started from the original Mobile Suit Gundam and through Zeta Gundam and ZZ Gundam until now. But that’s only if you’re a nerd who cares about having your timelines in order. To the romantic, Char’s Counterattack is a thrilling story about emotional bonds set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing era. It’s like You’ve Got Mail but with anti-war messaging.
In it, you have the old yet barrel-aged Char Aznable. After spending his childhood fantasizing about revenge and spending his young 20s executing that revenge and having a brief stint where he adopted a kid with a girl’s name, Char finds himself living the high life with the cushiest job in all the space colonies- Supreme Leader of Neo Zeon. His mission? Free humanity from the shackles of gravity, by obliterating the Earth with asteroids.
And yet, his soul is wanting. He’s got it all- a young protege who looks up to him (Gyunei), a hot maternal scientist who clearly skipped Ethics class to get her hair done (Nanai) and legions of adoring fans (the Space colonies). Still, his heart wanders in search of one man, Amuro Ray (Amuro Ray).
Even without watching all of Gundam, you can clearly see the sparks going on between these two throughout Char’s Counterattack. It’s pretty easy to read Counterattack as a story of pining, as Char conducts elaborate scenario after elaborate scenario to get Amuro’s attention. Nuking Tibet from Orbit was just an excuse to get Amuro to come out, where Char and he engage in yet another starlit dance amid the chatter of the radio screaming about the loss of Earth. Later, as the Earth Federation try to get this proverbial kid throwing rocks to stop by giving him a brick, he even closes his eyes and prays that Amuro can sense him out there, that he might come to his side.
Like any romantic movie protagonist, Char’s got his obstacles, as well. Amuro’s romantically involved with a girl, and his work just won’t give him the time to chase his brown-haired passions. Does he lie down and give up? Of course not. Just like the Zabis heads being connected to their torsos didn’t stop him from exacting his revenge, so too did Amuro Ray thinking he likes women not stand in Char’s way to his goals.
It’s also got another great romance movie trope- the parallel storytelling, as Hathaway’s crush on Quess Paraya motivate him to perform the most romantic gesture of all– murder. They’re not really important to this story other than Quess being proof of how pure Char’s love is- he neither flinches nor falters at her advances, but will immediately rise to any occasion to meet Amuro Ray, even if he has to do so on horseback. While you may have thought of the mature and sexy Nanai as a love interest, she was actually the best friend all along, sharing intimate embraces with Char but in the end, only motivating him to choose who he’s wanted the whole time.
Of course, like any good romance movie, nothing beats its thrilling climax. Just like Hugh Grant being a boy, asking a girl in front of him to love him, Char invites Amuro to one last dance on the Axis. Amuro, bashful, is shocked to learn that the Nu Gundam- his ballgown, so to speak, was actually made by Char himself. They chase each other all along the asteroid, even re-enacting their fight at A Baoa Qu- if only Char had brought the same Rapiers to really cement the magic of the moment, maybe they could have realized the truth of it all: these Newtypes just need each other.
You see it in the movie’s resolution, too- Amuro, embracing Char’s cockpit, uses the bond of all living things on Earth and in Space to shift the Axis away from the Earth, saving everyone. The two star-crossed pilots die in each other’s (mechanical) arms, having performed a miracle born of humanity’s possibility and the new Psychoframe technology.
It’s easy to see Char’s Counterattack as the story about an evil militaristic man set out to destroy the Earth. But when you remember the context of everything else he’s been through, it’s just as easy to see it for what it really is- the last cry for help from a man in too deep, longing for his rival to put him out of his misery. Char drags everyone along in the riptide of his schemes, even creating the necessary power vacuums for characters like Gyunei to enact their own plans.
Sure, it’s also an important part of the UC timeline. But people who recommend “needing” to watch something like homework have forgotten the good old days when media was just fun to consume. What do they know about romance, when all a movie is is a film adaptation of the text on the back of a Funko Pop?
If you follow through with this plan to watch Char’s Counterattack on Valentine’s Day, I’m sure your partner will look you deep in the eyes, appreciative of the lesson in love you’d just given them- all presented in the form of one of the greatest mecha stories ever told. And if they don’t, you can look forward to my next article in this series: Why Char’s Counterattack Is The Perfect Movie To Watch When You’ve Just Been Dumped
