History Anime / MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack

* WeaponOfChoice: Amuro favors bazookas both in and out of his Mobile Suit.

** Cranked UpToEleven with Axis, as it has enough ''nukes'' to bring about a planet-wide nuclear winter.

* KillEmAll: As per Tomino's M.O., [[spoiler:''Char's Counterattack'' kills nearly the entire cast except for Bright, his family and Nanai]].

* CombatPragmatist: Amuro, both in and out of his Mobile Suit. This is even known to the rest of the cast, as Gyunei at one point jumps to the conclusion that Amuro is trying to pull a fast one on him during a HostageSituation -- he's wrong, but Amuro's later actions prove that Gyunei was ''entirely right'' to worry about such behavior.

* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:The Axis Shock at the very end. It comes out of nowhere with no foreshadowing except for a few seconds before it happens and it causes Axis to change course despite the fact that it has already begun atmospheric entry.]]

* HostageSituation: Gyunei instigates one in an attempt to capture Amuro and his Nu Gundam. [[spoiler:The attempt fails when Gyunei jumps the gun, though the unfortunate hostage loses her life]].

->''I'm about to do something really wicked.''
-->--Char makes the understatement of the Universal Century.

->''[[WeDidntStartTheBillyJoelParodies Char and Ray\\
Blown away\\
What else do I have to say?]]''

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: In the dub, Char in his speech pronounces the Titans as "Tee-tahns", which is the Japanese pronunciation. Slightly justified as Zeta hadn't been dubbed yet, but it should have been obvious to the translators and dub team what the word is.

* SpaceDoesNotWorkThatWay: The climax of the movie [[spoiler:where mobile suits are trying to push Axis away from Earth somewhat falls apart when you realize that the mobile suits are pushing it in such a way to decelerate it, which would only ''make things worse'']].
** The dialogue, however, is correct: [[spoiler:everyone is freaked out when Axis ''decelerates'', and are relieved when it is inexplicably re-accelerated by the phenomenon later coined "Axis Shock"]].

* UnfortunateNames: Because of the way the lower case "nu" is written, the Hi-Nu Gundam looks like it's the "HI-v Gundam", which is why there's usually a dash separating "Hi" and the "nu" symbol.

** {{Irony}}: Despite Char's insistence that Newtype evolution will lead to greater understanding between humanity, he and Amuro, both Newtypes, are completely incapable of understanding each other. Amuro doesn't see why Char would drop Axis on Earth and dismisses [[spoiler:his act of sportsmanship leaking out the Psychoframe data to him for use in the Nu Gundam as a way to fight even and to "look down on him"]]. Char, in turn, doesn't understand Amuro's treatment of Quess or his bond with Lalah. [[spoiler:They both die at each other's throats, no more enlightened as to the other's motives than they were before]].

* {{Ephebophile}}: 13-year-old Quess is an object of much sexual desire from the majority of the male cast. Only Amuro and Bright are immune, though how much Char is feeling and how much he's faking is anyone's guess.

** You would think that Kamille and [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Judau Ashta]] would be there to help Amuro out in stopping Char[[note]]Although it's somewhat understandable why Kamille isn't there, when you consider that he was [[spoiler:[[MindRape mind raped]] by [[BigBad Paptimus Scirocco]]]], meaning that he likely is a very ShellShockedVeteran, and Judau was written as heading out to Jupiter at the of ZZ[[/note]]...

[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CharsCouterattackGundam.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:230:''We belong to Earth...'']]

* FlawedPrototype: The Nu Gundam, despite being one of the most incredible suits of its era, is still an incomplete, rushed version of Amuro's original design - the [[AttackDrone fin funnels]] are actually a last-second addition and just stick to a random latch on the backpack, while the controls are still dangerously oversensitive. Officially, the completed version is the Hi-Nu Gundam from ''Beltorchika's Children'', which is streamlined to near perfection and better armed (it's "[[{{BFG}} Hyper Mega Bazooka Launcher]]" is at least as powerful as the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Wing Gundam Zero's "Twin Buster Rifle"]], albeit not portable, since it requires a hook-up to the reactor of the ''La Cailum'').
** UnfinishedUntestedUsedAnyway: They were actually just starting the testing phase on the Nu Gundam when Char's Neo Zeon fleet decided on a preemptive attack on the ''La Cailum''. Because of the urgency of the situation, Amuro and his team basically threw it together, slapped on whatever weapons they could find, then launched without fine-tuning the instruments. This does come to bite Amuro in the ass during the Nu Gundam's second sortie against Gyunei.
*** Ultimately, [[spoiler:this trope is what kills Amuro and Char]], contrary to popular belief: [[spoiler:their suits didn't burn up on atmospheric re-entry, but rather the resonating Psychoframes overloaded, which is what happens when experimental technology gets used in combat without prior testing]].

!Tropes included in ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack'' are:

* AllThereInTheManual: The novel adaptation as filmed actually contains only half of the original story. The first half took place in 0092 and detailed Char's return, his take over of Sweetwater, EGUM (a front organisation for Char's Neo Zeon) and the formation of Londo Bell. The film begins at the second part, during Char's take over of Fifth Luna.

* ConspicuousCG: Notable because it's the first time CG has ever been used in a ''Gundam'' work.

** In ''Shin Gihren's Greed'', Amuro's best ending sees him promoted ''again'' to after successfully preventing the Axis Shock and capturing Char alive.

** Chan also suffers from this, as despite being a technical officer and not a combat pilot she heads out into the final battle under the reasoning of "Amuro needs more psycoframes!" [[spoiler:She is killed not by the enemy, but to friendly fire ]].

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:By the time Amuro takes the initiative to push Axis, Londo Bell, Federation army 'and' Neo-Zeon pilots do the same with their mobile suits. Sadly, because of the intense pressure and stress, their suits can't handle it like the Nu Gundam. While can't hang on and are forced off relatively harmlessly, a good number of them explode after a few seconds.]]

* MeaningfulName: Quess is a character that is less sympathetic than most who and who brings about the deaths of no small number of people. Her last name is pronounced like "pariah." Her father moreso, as no one in the film speaks a good word to or about him, and only gets his way due to his status as a politician.

* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Ultimately the fate of Char and Amuro as the Nu Gundam's psycoframe overloads while pushing Axis away from Earth, a conclusion left ambiguous by the movie and side materials for years until ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' confirmed it, especially its AnimatedAdaptation.]]

* MonumentalDamage: The hypocenter of Char's asteroid attack on Lhasa is the Potala Palace, traditional home of the Dalai Lama.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Wouldn't be ''Gundam'' without it, particularly since Bright is in the movie. Subverted because it fixes nothing, but noteworthy for being a particularly ''vigorous'' Bright Slap - Captain Bright slaps his own son ''halfway across a room.'' Even in zero-G that's a hell of a smack.

* GroinAttack: One infamous moment in Char and Amuro's fight is when the Sazabi strikes down at the Nu Gundam with its beam saber, its blade cutting through where the groin of the Nu Gundam is at.

* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]]: [[spoiler:By the time Amuro takes the initiative to push Axis, Londo Bell, Federation army '''AND''' Neo-Zeon pilots do the same with their mobile suits. Sadly, because of the intense pressure and stress, their suits can't handle it like the Nu Gundam and implode]].

* KnightTemplar: It is implied that Char intends to force all of humanity into space so they can evolve into Newtypes.

* LoveHurts: A significant portion of the cast dies because of the male portion's attraction to Quess. [[spoiler:Gyunei (who's in love with her and is killed by Amuro), the mechanic [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Astonage Medoz]] (tries to stop Hathaway from going to find Quess, only to be killed by an explosion; his girlfriend Kayru Su had just died in the previous sortie) and Chan (who ''kills'' Quess and is offed by Hathaway since he had just succeeded to make Quess pull a HeelFaceTurn, until Chan ruins it]].
* MeaningfulName: Quess is a character that is less sympathetic than most who and who brings about the deaths of no small number of people. Her last name, is pronounced like "pariah." Her father moreso, as no one in the film speaks a good word to or about him, and only gets his way due to his status as a politician.

* MotiveDecay: Gyunei goes from wanting to keep an eye on Char to "must bone Quess" with remarkable speed. Than again, he is a Cyber-Newtype, and if ''Zeta Gundam'' and ''Gundam ZZ'' are any indication, they tend to be a little unstable. It's also unsubtly implied that Quess's own Newtype powers are responsible for this effect, as Hathaway Noa also undergoes a similar sudden infatuation.

* PlotTumor: Quess' subplot eats up huge amounts of screen-time, derails Hathaway and Gyunei's characters, and contributes absolutely nothing to the story as a whole, while taking away the possibility of any CharacterDevelopment for the rest of the cast. There's a reason she's as widely hated as she is.

* TheFilmOfTheBook: ''Hi-Streamer''

* WarriorTherapist: Taken to ludicrous extremes, as Amuro and Char discuss the latter's OedipusComplex [[spoiler:while the former is attempting to hold off Axis in atmospheric re-entry single-handedly with the Nu Gundam]].

* {{Yandere}}: Quess; Gyunei [[spoiler:and Hathaway]] ''might'' be rare male examples for the HumongousMecha genre.

* CatchPhrase:
** "That's egotism!!"
** "The Nu Gundam's not just for show!!"

* HourglassPlot: A generational version. Char and Amuro become the complete opposites of their fathers. Where Zeon Zum Deikun was a man driven by ideology who genuinely believed in the potential of the spacenoid people, Char is a selfish, petty little man who uses his father's lofty ideals to bamboozle people into helping him carry out his personal vendetta. Tem Ray, meanwhile, was a self-absorbed JerkAss who cared more about the Gundam he created than the lives of the people it was made to protect and died laughing about how his glorious creation was being shown off on broadcast TV but that didn't stop his son Amuro from growing up to be a selfless hero.
** It should be noted that this interpretation is contradicted by the later manga ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamTheOrigin'', which portrays Zeon Zum Deikun as a megalomaniac with AGodAmI-level delusions of grandeur, though Tem Ray is left the same JerkAss as before.

* InvincibleHero: Amuro is at the peak of his piloting ability and has a Mobile Suit built with the most cutting-edge technology of the era, entirely to his specifications. Accordingly he is simply untouchable, with no one, not Gyunei or Quess or even ''Char himself'' being able to keep up with him.

* MeaningfulName: A blatantly hated character who brings about the deaths of so many people? One has to wonder if Quess's last name, which is pronounced like "Pariah", [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste is a hint to Tomino wanting a hated character]].

** Neo Zeon as a whole is quite willing to wash their hands of their share of atrocities (the actions of the Zabi's and of Haman) and rally behind those performed by the Titans. Supplementary material would go on to note that much of Char's Neo Zeon was formed by the remnants of Haman's Neo Zeon; it's clear that it's not just Char's hypocrisy at play.

* RankUp: Subverted, in a realistic sense. Amuro, last seen in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'', was a Lieutenant. For the Londo Bell forces, he's been promoted but only one step up to Lieutenant Commander. The Federation doesn't trust Newtypes and doesn't want to give them too much rank in the military. And Amuro is a pilot, not command material.
** Played straight with Bright who, while still called "captain," is now in charge of his own independent arm of the EFSF fleet.
** In ''Shin Gihren's Greed'', Amuro's best ending sees him promoted ''again'' to Colonel after successfully preventing the Axis Shock and capturing Char alive.

** The dialogue, however, is correct: [[spoiler:everyone is freaked out when Axis ''decelerates'', and are really happy when it is re-accelerated by the mobile suits and Nu Gundam]].

* TooDumbToLive: The Earth Federation leadership's attitude in this movie can be summed up thusly - "[[spoiler:Okay, Char, we'll give you a huge suitcase full of money and a giant space rock, just as long as you promise not to drop any more giant space rocks on us]]." *Several minutes later* "DUDE, C'MON! WE HAD A DEAL!"
** Chan also suffers from this, as despite being a technical officer and not a combat pilot she heads out into the final battle under the bizarre reasoning of "Amuro needs more psycoframes!" Unsurprisingly, she is killed, though [[spoiler:to friendly fire in her case rather than the enemy]].

** Quess herself applies for this trope, being one the most powerful Newtypes in the entire Universal Century but also being far too immature and inexperienced to properly manage her gifts. The entire rest of the cast either recoils from her or develops instant insane infatuation for her.