Editing Char Aznable (section)

==Reception==
Char Aznable is not only a character, but has become a brand name.<ref name="Otona">Otona no Gundam-All about Gundam-Perfect, Adult's Gundam, Char Aznable & Ramba Ral, January 1, 2008, Nikkei Business Publication {{ISBN|978-4-8222-6317-1}}</ref> Char, along with five other notable mecha and pilots from the various Gundam series, were recognized in the second set of "Anime Heroes and Heroines" stamps, released in Japan in 2005.<ref>Japan Philatelic Society Foundation, [http://yushu.or.jp/english/e_sdate/05jpn/05kine/050801c1.html Animation Hero and Heroine Series II "Gundam"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405205441/http://yushu.or.jp/english/e_sdate/05jpn/05kine/050801c1.html |date=April 5, 2023 }}</ref> Char Aznable has routinely placed in the top 10 lists of popular characters in both Gundam-specific and general-oriented fan magazines in Japan, such as ''[[Gundam Ace]]'' and ''[[Animage]]'', typically ranking higher than the main character and his rival, [[Amuro Ray]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1979.html |script-title=ja:第1回アニメグランプリ '79→'80総決算 |magazine=Animage |language=ja |access-date=November 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928011312/http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1979.html |archive-date=September 28, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1980.html |script-title=ja:第2回アニメグランプリ '80年上半期 |magazine=Animage |language=ja |access-date=November 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929214310/http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1980.html |archive-date=September 29, 2013 }}</ref> In ''Gundam Ace'', Char is consistently in the top 3 of the list, and held the number 1 spot for long periods of time, despite the fact that ''Gundam Ace'' tallies votes for Char's alter-ego Quattro Bajeena separately. In fact, Quattro also consistently ranks in the top 10.  In both [[Gunpla]] and Figure magazines it is almost guaranteed to see Char's custom red mobile suit.<ref name="Otona"/> He has also been voted as the second most popular male character from the 1980s by ''[[Newtype]]'' readers.<ref name="newtype">{{cite journal | journal=[[Newtype]] | publisher=[[Kadokawa Shoten]] | title=Newtype's Top 30 Male and Female Characters of Each Decade | date=March 2010 | language=ja}}</ref> During January from 2007, [[Oricon]] made a poll in which they asked Japanese fans from manga and anime which characters from any series they would most like to see in spinoff series. He won the men's poll while ranked second in the overall.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-01-08/oricon-fans-want-l-char-aznable-spinoffs|title=Oricon: Fans Want L, Char Aznable Spinoffs|work=[[Anime News Network]]|date=August 1, 2007|access-date=August 10, 2013|archive-date=April 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402171927/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-01-08/oricon-fans-want-l-char-aznable-spinoffs|url-status=live}}</ref> In a NHK poll from 2018 he was voted as the best ''Gundam'' character.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-04-03/the-ultimate-gundam-poll-posts-its-intermediate-results/.129891|title=The Ultimate Gundam Poll Posts Its Intermediate Results|work=[[Anime News Network]]|date=April 3, 2018|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207080718/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-04-03/the-ultimate-gundam-poll-posts-its-intermediate-results/.129891|url-status=live}}</ref> In an Anime!Anime! poll, Amuro and Quattro were voted as one of the best anime rivals turned into allies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://animeanime.global/2020/01/23/51046.html|title=Results for Survey on the best Rivals that Turned Into Comrades|website=AnimeAnime|date=January 23, 2020|access-date=July 18, 2020|archive-date=July 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718164322/https://animeanime.global/2020/01/23/51046.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Aaron J. Kane from [[University of Vermont]], Tomino managed to create a realistic series by prioritizing on Amuro and Char rather than focus more on the robots like his previous works.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1158&context=hcoltheses|title=Repackaging Grand Narrative: From Narrative to Database in the Remakes of Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam|year=2016|publisher=University of Vermont|author=Kane; Aaron J.}}</ref>

On the Japanese bulletin board [[2channel]], the Gundam forums are named ''Char custom'' (シャア専用), and the anonymous placeholder for the name is changed to "3 times more than the usual anonymous" (通常の名無しさんの3倍), a reference to the "3 times faster than the usual Zaku" line from the original series. ''Char Custom'' refers to Char's tendency to highly customized standard Mobile Suits to his exact specifications and generally making the said units far more potent than normal. This usually involves the character coloring his suits red, which led some people to go as far as to label anything red "Char-custom", and to make vague references to the "3 times more potent" line in the original Gundam series (e.g. A red pencil might write 3 times faster, or is 3 times more likely to break).  This pinkish-red color was actually due to the excess of pinkish red color ink the animation company had at the time.  It is, however, stated in the game ''Gireh's Greed'' that the color is actually only the color of an unpainted Zaku due to the grudge from him being the top graduate from military school.

[[Bandai]] has capitalized on the character's popularity by licensing out the name to various products. There has been a Char-custom laptop, Char-custom [[GameCube]], and a Char-custom [[motorbike]] helmet. All these products have a red satin finish, and have the goldleaf Zeon insignia or the emblem of Char's Neo Zeon emblazoned on them. A Char-custom [[Game Boy Advance SP]] was also created in Japan (with many sources claiming its battery will last 3 times as long as the normal GBA, or even that it will crash 3 times as much). On July 25, 2006, [[GE Consumer Finance]] released a Char Custom credit card, which receives three times as many bonus points per 1000 yen spent compared to their other Gundam-related credit cards.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gecard.com/character/char.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824041342/http://www.gecard.com/character/char.html | archive-date=August 24, 2006 | title=Geカード {{pipe}} シャア専用カード }}</ref> Japanese cell phone company [[Soft Bank]] released a special Char Custom cell phone in late 2007, with a very large red Zaku head which serves as the charger base. Char related apparel and accessories span a wide range, from the ubiquitous Quattro sunglasses to Char lighters, neckties, wristbands, caps, wallets and a wide range of T-shirts.  The creator of Char Aznable, [[Yoshiyuki Tomino]], does not like the idea of making money this way. He feels that by sticking the term "Char's Custom" to the products culturally suggests the quality of the product is superior to other brands. However, most of them are only colored red and are basically the same as the products on which they are based; ironically, some of these "Char Custom" products are even of lower quality than the baseline products. Creator Yoshiyuki Tomino believes that "having satisfaction in such products just because they are popular and can earn money is a sin, since it cannot teach a correct social sense to the newer generation".<ref>Playback special interview – Yoshiyuki Tomino, Otona no Gundam Perfect, p. 102~103, "まず声を大にして言いたいですね。シャアグッズについても、目を引くような"良さ"がなく、ただ赤く塗っただけでシャア專用を名乗るような商品は、絶対に間違っています。誤解を恐れず言いますが、赤いだけという志の低い商品は、ぼくの目の前からなくなってほしいと思います。...どこのメーカー製かわからないパーツを使っで、それで満足のスタッフにはほとほと嫌気ださします。...シャアブランドを借りる一方で、"シャア"に負けない何かを持という気概がなければ意味がないんです。...公共意識を伝え忘れた僕たちの世代の罪...儲かりさえすればいいという企業で働くサラリーマンを見て影響を受けた若い世代が、良い形で大人になれるとは思いません。...そして、公共意識というものを、次の世代にしっかり伝えなかったのも問題です。"</ref>

In the 2017 live-action adaptation of [[Gintama]], Char makes a [[cameo appearance]], arriving at Gengai's lab and repair shop to pick up his [[Zaku]] 2 Commander type, much to the astonishment of manga-obsessed swordsman [[Gintoki]]. In this movie, which is packed to the gills with [[pop culture]] references, Char is played by actor and singer [[Seiji Rokkaku]].

In a planned spaceflight for 2006, [[Soyuz TMA-9]], a Japanese internet investor named [[Daisuke Enomoto]] had asked to [[cosplay|dress up]] as Char Aznable. However, medical restrictions prevented him from participating in the flight. [[Toyota]] also formed a new branch called Zeonic Toyota planning to issue a series of special cars, the first one being Char Aznable special Auris.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://response.jp/article/2013/01/09/188418.html|title=トヨタ、シャア専用オーリスを発売へ...ジオンと新会社設立|date=January 9, 2013|access-date=January 9, 2013|archive-date=January 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109210808/http://response.jp/article/2013/01/09/188418.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although his duel with Amuro in the film was considered the highlight of the film, Allen Divers from [[Anime News Network]] criticized how their rivalry was left unfulfilled.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/gundam-char%27s-counterattack/dvd|title=Gundam: Char's Counterattack DVD|work=Anime News Network|author=Divers, Allen|date=March 21, 2003|access-date=November 28, 2013|archive-date=May 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529015241/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/gundam-char%27s-counterattack/dvd|url-status=live}}</ref> THEM Anime Reviews' Carlo Ross saw Char in the film as the "true star" believing him to overshadow Amuro.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=101|title=Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack|publisher=THEM Anime Reviews|author=Ross, Carlo|access-date=November 30, 2013|archive-date=November 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130044803/https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=101|url-status=live}}</ref> On the other hand, J. Doyle Wallis criticized their rivalry in the film considering it a "rehash" of the events of the television series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/4410/mobile-suit-gundam-chars-counter-attack/|title=Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack|publisher=DVD Talk|author=Wallis, J. Doyle|access-date=November 30, 2013|date=August 17, 2002|archive-date=June 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607135840/https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/4410/mobile-suit-gundam-chars-counter-attack/|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''Char's Counterattack'', it is not until Amuro re engineers the {{ill|RX-93|jp|νガンダム}} with the psycho frame system that he is able to battle Char on equal footing. This handling of Gundams was compared to that of [[Formula 1]] drivers and their own race cars,  a connection that still holds for the film. The macro-action of ''Char's Counterattack'' briefly pauses whenever pilots are forced to dock mid-battle in order to attend to repairs and refueling. Such specific attention to the details of the mobile suits in the movie simultaneously be re-created in the model kits that would be released after the film's debut.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/jams/article/view/926/930|title=Mechapocalypse: Tracing Gundam's Global Appeal and Fandom|author=Dominguez, Anthony|access-date=August 27, 2023|volume=3|pages=240–263 |journal=Journal of Anime and Manga Studies|date=December 14, 2022 |doi=10.21900/j.jams.v3.926 |s2cid=254768885 |doi-access=free}}</ref>