Other than the mecha itself, the other thing that the original 1979’s Mobile Suit Gundam managed to turn into an icon is the main character, Amuro Ray. However, now that the anime has been seen by different generations of people, a new thought has started to bubble up. A new hot take, if you will.
There are tons of people who love the anime that are thinking that there was another character that was better suited to helm this highly influential franchise. His name is Char Aznable, and here are the reasons why he is a better main character than Amuro Ray.
The Red Comet vs The White Devil
Amuro Ray is the boy who stumbles upon the most advanced mobile suit prototype at the time, RX-78-2, or better known as Gundam. He is the son of the Earth Federation’s chief engineer who is responsible for the Gundam project. Amuro becomes familiar with RX-78-2 through the blueprint and the notes that his father left at home. Not to mention he is also quite adept at handling all kinds of machinery for his age. That’s why when he sits in the cockpit of the Gundam, he feels extremely comfortable and familiar with it. The sight of the pure white Gundam striking through the enemies earned him the nickname “White Devil.”
From early on in the series, it is clear that a genius pilot like Amuro would need an equally capable pilot from the enemy’s side. And that is the role of a young and charismatic Major from the Principality of Zeon, Char Aznable. At the time, Char was a highly-respectable figure within the Zeon’s military. Prior to meeting Amuro, Char has already proven himself as one of the best mobile suit pilots that the Zeon has ever seen. The sight of his custom red Zaku blazing through space earned him the nickname “Red Comet.”
Motivation
Now that we’ve talked briefly about both characters, let’s start exploring the first reason why Char is better than Amuro. The motivation.
A good main character, or any character for that matter, needs to have a good reason behind his action. There has to be something that drives him forward, something that motivates him to do what he does. There’s really no such thing for Amuro. After all, as mentioned above, he merely stumbles upon the Gundam and then simply goes along with it and suddenly finds himself fighting at the frontline as a soldier of the Earth Federation.
As for Char, well, he is actually the son of the founder of the Principality of Zeon who was assassinated by the Zabi family. He knew that he had to hide his existence if he wanted to live. That being said, his head and heart are filled with a thirst for revenge. In his mind, the only thing he can do to get close to the Zabi family is by rising through the ranks of the military. And that is why he decided to take on the name Char Aznable, hide his face behind a mask, and work hard to become the best soldier for Zeon. All so that he can kill the entire Zabi family.
Believability and Relatability
The next important quality of a good main character is believability and relatability. What he says and does has to be believable, and the viewers have to be able to relate to him to some degree. Amuro Ray is just a boy who has read about a newly-designed advanced robot. But then he is suddenly capable of not only handling the real thing better than most veteran and highly trained soldiers, but he is also sent to the frontline and essentially becomes the key factor for winning one of the most devastating wars in human history.
Sure, there are child soldiers out there, but the Federation at the time shouldn’t be so desperate that they would give their most advanced tech and pin their hope on a boy. So no, what happened to Amuro is utterly unbelievable and there’s no way a regular boy can relate to his experience.
Char, on the other hand, was forced to grow up beyond his age due to having to find ways to survive assassinations attempt while also trying to figure out how to avenge his father’s death at the same time.
He has gone through a proper military school where he distinguished himself as one of the most gifted graduates. He also rose through the ranks of the military purely by the skills that he polished through numerous combats and missions.
Goal and Ambition
Other than a motivation that drives him forward, a good main character also needs to have a goal that he strives to achieve. While it is not mandatory, a solid ambition lodged in his heart is also a good quality to have. Amuro doesn’t have any of those things. For the majority of the series, he simply goes with the flow. He merely does what his superior asks him to do or follows what his teenage hormone tells him to do.
Char, on the other hand, has several goals and ambitions in mind. The first one is to avenge his father and kill the entire Zabi family. He fixed his eyes on becoming the person that they would depend on the most, and then betray them at the most crucial moment. Just like what they do to his father. Once he finishes with his revenge, he turns his attention on becoming a proper leader for his people. He wants to shape the Principality of Zeon according to the vision of his late father. To the Red Comet, his goal stretched way beyond the one-year war.
So to summarize, Char Aznable has solid reasons and motivation behind his actions, what he does and accomplished is believable, his tough upbringing is quite relatable, and he has a burning ambition and clear-cut goals to achieve. The same thing can’t be said about Amuro Ray. That is why the Red Comet is a much better main character than the White Devil. That is also why Mobile Suit Gundam: Origin which talks about Char’s past is one of the best series in the entire U.C. Gundam timeline.