| Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Screenplay by | Yoshiyuki Tomino |
| Based on | Mobile Suit Gundam by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate |
| Produced by | Kenji Uchida |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Shigeaki Saegusa |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | ¥1.16 billion |
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (Japanese: 機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア, Hepburn: Kidō Senshi Gandamu: Gyakushū no Sha) is a 1988 Japanese anime science fiction film directed and written by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It is set in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam franchise. Featuring the talents of Shūichi Ikeda, Toru Furuya, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Maria Kawamura, Nozomu Sasaki, Kōichi Yamadera, among others, it focuses on Char Aznable's attempt of genocide on the planet Earth by pushing the asteroid called Axis into a collision with the planet. As a result, Char's rival from the Earth Federation Amuro Ray tries to defeat him in combat and avoid a slaughter in the process.
In addition to being the first original Gundam theatrical release, Char's Counterattack was also the first Gundam production to make use of computer graphics during a five-second shot of the Sweetwater colony rotating in space, being made at Toyo Links. It was based on Tomino's original novel, High-Streamer, but several parts were altered due to issues with Sunrise in regards to the handling of Amuro Ray. Char's Counterattack was released in America on DVD on August 20, 2002, and was broadcast on January 4, 2003, on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block.
Upon release, the film made a gross of ¥1.16 billion in Japan. The film was praised for its production values and the rivalry between the two leads even though some critics found it recycled from the television series. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino also expressed doubts about the film he directed in retrospective. Nevertheless, Tomino wrote another novel known as Beltorchika's Children which focuses more on Amuro's personal life and was adapted into a manga series.