Amuro Ray

Amuro Ray is one of the main protagonists from Mobile Suit Gundam and a major character in its sequels, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Char's Counterattack. He is the benchmark of all Gundam pilots that came after him., being most famously known for piloting the powerful RX-78-2 Gundam during the One Year War.

Personality & Character
Amuro's habits indicate him being a 'nerd' in some ways. One being his fondness for machines over people, and his frustration to do what he can in order to impress his superiors (Bright Noa.) There is also some fan speculation, due to his behavior, that he may suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. Throughout the war, Amuro's mental stress and his growing Newtype powers distance him further away from the crew members of the White Base. Through all of Amuro's development, he then begins to lose many people he had cherished, most importantly Lalah Sune, the only person he could telepathically communicate with. At the end of the war, Amuro realizes that the crew of the White Base is the family he belongs to.

In Zeta Gundam, Amuro has become more of a reclusive person due to being isolated after the OYW. Through his guilt over accidentally killing Lalah, Amuro also has a fear of going into outer space, as told by Mirai Noa. However, Fraw Bow manages to re-ignite his fighting spirit to help the crew of the Argama during their time on Earth. In Char's Counterattack, Amuro has grown into much more of a leader, willing to sacrifice himself for a brighter and more hopeful future.

Skills & Abilities
It is seen in the original series that Amuro has a certain knack for mechanics, including building a talking ball shaped robot named Haro, which would become a Gundam mascot. Initially, when Amuro pilots the Gundam, he is barely able to fend off aces such as his main rival Char Aznable and Ramba Ral, mostly relying on the sheer incredible power of the Gundam. However, over time, Amuro manages to hone his skills to the point where the Gundam needed a field upgrade to keep up with Amuro's increasing reaction times.

Side 7
Amuro first comes to prominence late in the One Year War of September Universal Century 0079. Son of engineer Tem Ray, one of the Federation's V Project scientists, he finds himself caught in the midst of the Zeon reconnaissance mission to Side 7, when he takes refuge in the cockpit of the RX-78-2 Gundam. Quickly skimming through the Gundam's flight manual, Amuro fully activates the Mobile Suit and uses it to destroy one of the two MS-06 Zaku II that were attacking the colony. Unfortunately, the resulting explosion created a hull breach in the colony that engulfed his father. Amuro destroyed the last invading Zaku more precisely by attacking the cockpit to avoid an explosion. Shortly after, he is commanded by (then) Ensign Bright Noa. Because Captain Paolo Cassius was injured during the battle with the two Zakus, Amuro was the only pilot available to provide cover for the White Base's escape from the colony. The Musai-class light cruiser that kept its distance from the colony attempted destroy the White Base by firing several missiles at the it, but Amuro managed to shoot them down. This lead to his first encounter with Char Aznable, piloting a custom MS-06S. A seasoned veteran, Char proved more than a match for Amuro. Amuro managed to score his third kill by killing Char's wingman, who was in a regular Zaku, but could not shoot down the nimble Char. Ryu Jose then came in to support Amuro in a Core Fighter. Char retreated back to the Musai to plan his next move while Amuro and Ryu returned to the White Base. Amuro became a member of the crew and was given the rank of Ensign, as well as becoming the Gundam's designated pilot.

Luna II
As the White Base made it's way from Side 7 to Luna II, they are soon arrested by Commandant Wakkein the Luna II base commander. Since they had unauthorized use of the White Base and the Gundam, but of which at this point are still considered a top secret project, the crew is arrested and put in the Luna II brig. Amuro attempts to protest this treatment, but falls on deaf ears. During this time Char and his men sneak inside Luna II to either destroy or capture both the Gundam and the White Base which have been dubbed the following names by the Zeon: "White Mobile Suit" and "Trojan Horse". As Char and his men put mines in various areas around Luna II including the hangar, they are soon spotted and the artifical gravity and the power goes offline. At this time, the crew makes their escape. Also during this time a Magellan Battleship commanded by Wakkein himself dismbarks, however the ship soon hits the mines and the battleship blocks the entrance. Amuro, Kai, Hayato and Ryu attempt to break the seals on the Gundam that Wakkein's men had placed previously. Wakkein points his pistol at Amuro telling him to stop. However, Mirai Yashima patches in a call from the infirmary so Cassius can talk to Wakkein and tell's him that the White Base crew and the Gundam pilot himself have considerable experience fighting Char even though it was one battle. Wakkein reluctantly allows the White Base crew to leave. Amuro and Ryo launch into space immedietly with Amuro dueling with Char once again. His main weapon, a hyper bazooka, is destroyed and Amuro resorts to his beam saber. As the battle becomes more one-sided, the White Base enters into the battlefield and destroys the Magellan with their main cannons to clear the entrance. Char retreats back to his Musai. Unfortunetly during the battle Cassius passes away and is given a military funeral. At this moment, Amuro begins to wonder if his father is still alive. After the battle, Wakkein recieves orders that the White Base is to proceed to Earth with only a single Salamis-class cruiser as an escort. Char & his Musai are not far behind.

Earth Orbit
As the White Base was about to set itself up for planet fall to Jaburo, the White Base was suppose to follow a Salamis capsule that was launched to guide the ship during re-entry. However everything did not go particularly as planned as Char had other ideas. He hoped to engage the White Base during re-entry thereby forcing the ship to burn up in the atmosphere. Amuro was to protect not only the White Base, but also the Salamis capsule from the 4 Zakus including Char's. Unfortunately, he could not do both as most of the Zakus were attacking the White Base and the Salamis Capsule. This made the enemy too close to attack with any projectiles. Lieutenent Reed, the person in command of the capsule, told Bright if Amuro did not get give them covering fire they would have to abort. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened and Bright had Reed make an emergency landing in the docking bay. Amuro particularly distinguishes himself in a dogfight with Char during the entry to Earth's atmosphere. However, Char, seeing as how he was getting too close to the atmosphere, went back into the Komusai capsule and started the entry into Earth. The remaining Zaku fighting the Gundam burned up during re-entry but Amuro and the Gundam survived. Amuro Ray became the first mobile suit pilot to actually survive atmospheric re-entry.

Earth
As the Gundam and the White Base make planet fall, they landed not in South America where the Earth Federation headquerters Jaburo is located, but in North America which is Zeon territory. Char had planned this mishap from the beginning of his engagement during their battle in Earth orbit. He immedietly contacts the North American base commander Captain Garma Zabi.

North America
Both the White Base and the Gundam were severly outnumbered. Amuro by this time was exhausted to the point of collapse. As he exited out of the Gundam to rest, Zeon forces led by Captain Garma Zabi, son of Degwin Sodo Zabi, gathered a force to capture or destroy the White Base and the Gundam. Garma attacked the Whitebase with a numerical superiority of HT-01B Magella Attack Tanks, Dopps, and several Zakus. He personally went into the battle with his own personal customized Dopp. Amuro was soon called back to duty, but Amuro refused to fight believing that he earned a break with what happened from the time of Side 7 to the current battle. Suffice to say, Bright Noa was not taking this well. Bright attempted to persuade Amuro to launch in the Gundam immediately, but his words fell on deaf ears. When words ran out, Bright resorted to slapping Amuro for his cowardice. As the battle was becomming more intensified, Bright gave up on persuading Amuro. Bright left with saying "I would have thought you would want to settle your score with Char but, I underestimated you." Frau Bow was witnessing Amuro's cowardice and told Amuro to give her the flight manual. When this happened, Amuro came back to his senses and went back into the fight. The Gundam was launched in a rapid response to the battle. During the battle, Amuro managed to destroy numerous Magella Attack Tanks as well as Dopps. It was also during this battle that Amuro was the first mobile suit pilot to preform aerial combat in a mobile suit. Captain Garma Zabi and Lt.Commander Char Aznable were monitoring the situation to see when the "White Mobile Suit" would enter the battle. When it did, Garma first engaged the Gundam only to abort as Amuro sliced a wing off his personal Dopp. Char launched from a Komusai capsule from the Musai and engaged Amuro in aerial combat in his Zaku. After which Garma called for an immediate retreat to review their situation. The White Base was able to avert destruction and for the moment was safe.

Medea Supply Corps
Sometime after the battle, a convoy of Medea supply transports arrived to resupply the White Base and take on as many passengers that were refugees from Side 7. Lieutenent Matilda Ajan, the commanding officer, spoke of the troubles Jaburo was having at the moment and the need for good officers were needed if they were to win the war. It was also at this point that Amuro became enamored with Lt. Matilda. After the resupply she advised Bright to head west, but for reasons unknown head for New York City.

New York City
The White Base crew knew that if they could break through the city, they would be able to escape Zeon territory. This would turn out to be their most difficult battle yet, as they were enroute to New York. Meanwhile, Char attends a party which Garma organized as he was engaged to Icelina Eschonbach, the daughter of the former mayor of New York City; an engagement her father disliked since he believed the Zeon were their enemies. It was during the party that Char and Garma were alerted of the White Base's position and responded on a moments notice. As the White Base was entering the city, Amuro believed the situation to be too dangerous and asked permission from Bright to have the Gundam be used as a decoy. This plan was to draw off Zeon forces as the White Base makes their escape. However, Bright dissaproves of this idea feeling it's too risky. White Base finds a sports dome they were able to hide in and decide not to launch any mobile suits. Garma and Char preform a carpet bombing from their Gaw Assault Carrier to draw out the White Base, but to no avail. Char then volunteers to personally search for the White Base along with two other pilots. As the Zakus launch, the White Base launches the Gundam, Guntank and Guncannon. Soon afterwards, Char finds the Gundam, noting that the pilot is getting better. As Amuro was trying to lead Char away from the White Base, Amuro loses sight of Char. For reasons unknown, instead of telling Garma that the White Base is in back of Garma's assault force, Char tells Garma that they are in front of his forces. Garma's Gaw Assault Carrier are in a position to be attacked from behind by White Base forces. Garma's forces are destroyed with Char admitting to Garma his betrayal because Garma was born a Zabi. Garma then attempts to ram the Gaw into the White Base, but is unsuccessful. The White Base escapes from Zeon territory afterwards.

Family Reunion
The White Base lands on a beach and decide to take a short leave. While repairing various damages on the ship, Amuro takes a Core Fighter to find his mother who stayed on Earth while him and his father migrated to Side 7, years ago. As he enters his old home, he only finds drunk federation soldiers lying in the living room. The soldiers tell him the house had been empty for some time. The only thing left is a doll that Amuro once had. As Amuro remember his past, he spots federation soldiers harassing an old lady. As Amuro attempts to stop the soldier from harassing her, Amuro is beaten down. The old lady recognized Amuro and told the soldiers to stop. Amuro told her how he found the house empty and the old lady tells him that his mother had been working as an assistant in a field medical hospital. Amuro heads there quickly in his core fighter. As he lands, the civilians ask him why he is here (seeing his uniform) and tell him that there is a Zeon base on top of a mountain nearby. His mother, Kamaria Ray, arrives to see what the commotion was about and saw her son for the first time in years. Both were relieved to find each other alive. Amuro and his mother shared stories as well as Amuro telling of how his father went missing after the incident in Side 7. Suddenly, two Zeon soldiers bursted in the room. Amuro hid under a blanket so he would not get caught. The Zeon soldiers attempted to persuade the people to give them information on the core fighter that landed through bribery but did not succeed. As they were about to leave, Amuro's communicator went off as the White Base was attempting to contact him. As the soldiers went over to the bed, Amuro's mother told them that he was very sick. As the soldier got closer, Amuro shot him through the blanket. Amuro fired his gun at the escaping man until his bullets ran out. The civilians were upset since Zeon forces would believe the field hospital was nothing more than federation hide out. Amuro then reported to the White Base which reported Zeon forces in the area and ordered him to return. Amuro's mother did not understand why he shot the man. Amuro harshly tells his mother that's what war is, though his mother believes that's no excuse for his actions. As Amuro was about to take off in his core fighter, his mother expressed her complete shame of being his mother. Amuro discovers the airfield belonging to the Zeon base and begins attacking it immediately. Although his mother's words begin to affect him, Amuro shruggs it off and continues his attack on the airfield. Unfortunetly, Lt. Matilda, who was in the area, had plans to raid the air base of it's supplies. Lt. Matilda saw what Amuro was doing and ordered him to stop. Almost all the supplies were destroyed during Amuro's attack in his core fighter, so Amuro & Matilda head to the White Base. During this time Bright recieves a promotion to Lieutenent Junior Grade. Matilda also speaks to him about the term "newtype" which the Zeon forces are looking into. Matilda told Bright that "Newtypes" are supposebly the next step of human evolution; a theory that was part of the philosophy of Zeon Zum Deikun, the former leader of the Republic of Zeon. As Matilda leaves, Amuro watches her Medea transport take off, an example of his feelings for her. Before take off, Amuro visits his mother again. With Bright standing next to him, Amuro tells his mother that he has obligations and responsibilities now and cannot abandon the White Base. His mother reluctantly accepts this and Amuro salutes her. Bright then salutes her as well and promises Amuro's mother that he will look after Amuro like a brother. As the White Base takes off, Amuro's mother collapses and wonders what happened to the boy she once raised.

First Fight with "The Blue Star"
The White Base makes it's trek toward the European continent. During this time Amuro begins to exhibit signs of combat fatigue. As Fraw Bow and Haro go into Amuro's quarters to give him lunch, Haro observes that Amuro is not feeling well, but he tells Haro he's fine. Amuro takes a break, but his combat fatigue remains. Meanwhile a Zanzibar-class mobile cruiser follows the White Base and begins attacking it. The person in the Zanzibar is Lieutenent Ramba Ral. Ramba Ral was ordered by Vice-Admiral Dozle Zabi, commander of the Space Attack Fleet stationed in Solomon Asteroid Base. His orders were to destroy the Gundam and the White Base which came following the death of Garma Zabi. Thus labeling Ramba Ral's fleet the "Garma Revenge Fleet". Ramba soon chases the White Base through a thunder storm but loses the White Base in his chase. The White Base was soon able to land somewhere, however they were soon found by a recon unit launched by Ramba Ral. As they were caught, Bright ordered Amuro for an immediate launch, but Amuro's combat fatigue worsened. Ryu had to personally come get him and attempt to force him to come back to reality. Ryu was unsuccessful in the attempt and hoped Amuro would come to as he strapped him in the Gundam cockpit. As the Gundam, Guntank and Guncannon launched, they faced three adversaries: two regular Zaku types, but one unfamliar,MS-07 Gouf, which was piloted by Ramba Ral. As Ramba Ral attacked Amuro more aggressively, Amuro committed himself fully to the battle. The two dueled and Ral proclaimed his most famous quote: "This is no Zaku boy! No Zaku!" and pushed Amuro back. As the battle progressed, Ramba Ral retreats. His wife, Crowley Hamon, aboard the Zanzibar cruiser releases blinders to cover their escape and Amuro is left wondering if he made them escape or they let him live.

Gihren's Speech
Against his father's wishes, Gihren errects a state funeral to commemorate Garma. As the speech progresses, Amuro is amazed by Gihren's words; Though Bright is more disgusted by it as he believes that the Zabis are nothing more than dictators. The words "Sieg Zeon" are heard throughout the White Base as they hear Gihren's speech conclude.

Using Guncannon
During the White Base's stay on the Asian continent, communications officer Sayla Mass takes the Gundam into a battle with Ramba's forces, in hopes of contacting the Zeon forces for information on her brother, who may have joined the Zeons. Bright orders Amuro to sortie in the Guncannon to save both Sayla and the Gundam. Amuro again forces Ramba to retreat from combat, while Amuro escorts Sayla and a captured Zeon soldier, Cozun, back to White Base.

Leaving White Base
Despite Amuro's victory over Ral, Bright feels that Amuro's piloting of the Gundam has made him both more self-centered and overconfident in ihs abilities. He shares this information with navigator Mirai Yashima in private. However, Amuro, sleeping in the control room, overhears their conversation and impulsively launches with the Gundam into the night.

Battle with M'Quve
Amuro, having taken Gundam from White Base, stumbles upon a small mining base which he believes is Zeon's Odessa Mining Base. After taking out enemy mobile suits and gun turrets, a hovering mobile armor, the MAX-03 Adzam rises from the ground and begins to attack Amuro. The mobile armor is being piloted by Kycilia Zabi and her right hand man M'Quve. The two gain the upper hand on Gundam when they deploy the Adzam's leaders, but Amuro manages to shake off the dust in time and slice off the top of the mobile armor. M'Quve immediately detonates the base and destroys it, leaving Amuro in frustration that he did not destroy Odessa.

Confrontation in Sodom
Burying Gundam in the heavy sand dunes, Amuro travels into a small town, Sodom for food. At the same time, the crew of the White Base looks in disgust at the base Amuro recently destroyed. Both Ryu and Bright agree that Amuro's careless actions have put the Zeon forces on alert. Fraw in frustration, departs White Base in a buggy to search for Amuro.

While in Sodom, Amuro is alone in the restaurant until a group of Zeon forces, led by Ramba Ral and Hamon, enter the bar. While Hamon flirts with Amuro, one of the Zeon soldiers grabs Fraw, who immediately says Amuro's name. Ramba orders his men to let Amuro and Fraw leave the bar, but not after telling Amuro, "You've got the eyes of a soldier." and telling him that they will fight as enemies on the battlefield. While Amuro rests in the sand, he sees the Gouf and a Zaku fly overhead. Realizing that the Zeons followed Fraw back to White Base, Amuro sorties in the Gundam to save his comrades. He is able to resolve the situation but Bright imprisons him for going AWOL. Nonetheless he is released and is allowed to continue piloting the Gundam.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Amuro was placed under house arrest shortly after the war due to the government's mistrust of Newtypes. While he lived in a luxurious mansion (possibly paid for by either royalties from patenting his Haro design as popular toys, or abundant war pensions for his military service) and was officially free to come and go as he pleased, Amuro's house servants were actually government agents assigned to keep track of his movements. Amuro worked as a trainer/adviser in the Cheyenne Mobile Suit Academy up until the time of the Gryps Conflict. He suffered from chronic combat fatigue, as commented by Emma Sheen and Beltorchika Irma, likely from his traumatic experience during the One Year War and the sense of guilt over killing Lalah Sune.

During the Gryps Conflict, a pregnant Fraw Bow, with her three adopted children, came to visit Amuro. They managed to re-ignite Amuro's fighting spirit and helped him escape from his government handlers. After joining the Karaba (AEUG's earth-bound ally), Amuro became a key figure within the group, leading several crucial missions, including the attack on the Titan's base in Mount Kilimanjaro and the seizing of Federation's Congress Building in Dakar. He later went to space to fight the Neo-Zeon (which was mentioned by Hayato Kobayashi, but not depicted, in Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam). After the First Neo-Zeon War, Amuro joins the Earth Federation's Londo Bell group led by Bright Noa, and served as the combat squad commander.

Char's Counterattack
During the Second Neo-Zeon War, Amuro is assigned to the battleship Ra Cailum, Londo Bell's flagship, as the leader of the ship's mobile suit squads. Amuro initially pilots the RGZ-91 Re-GZ, but Anaheim Electronics soon delivers to him the RX-93 Nu Gundam, a highly advanced mobile suit largely designed by Amuro himself. It is widely believed that his relatively low status in the Earth Federation is a sign of the government's continued mistrust in Newtypes.

At the end of the Second Neo-Zeon War, after defeating Char's MSN-04 Sazabi in the duel and capturing Char's escape pod, Amuro attempted to singlehandedly stop the asteroid Axis from colliding with the Earth by pushing the asteroid with his Nu Gundam. His action inspired other mobile suit pilots to join in, even Neo-Zeon soldiers. Although he eventually succeeded, the act overloaded Nu Gundam's psychoframe construct. Both he and Char disappeared in a magnificent aurora, thus ending his long-time legacy of combat since the One Year War and concluding the most famous Mobile Suit Gundam rivalry at last.

Causes of Death
Amuro's fate differs between the novelization of Mobile Suit Gundam and official timeline. In the novels, Amuro is killed by Char's 300th Autonomous Newtype Corp before the Battle of A Boa Que even ends. However, official timeline mark Amuro's death 13 years later in the Second Neo Zeon War. Which reflected in original novel Hi-Streamer, anime movie Char's Counterattack and its novel adaption Beltochika's Children. However, in the original animation and in the relating games, both Char and Amuro are listed as MIA.

Lalah Sune
Amuro first met the artificial Newtype girl on the lakeside of Side 6, and immediately developed a bonding. He later sensed Lalah Sune's Newtype ability when fighting Char's Gelgoog in Side 5's Texas Colony, and came back to White Base in an abnormally different mood. Their encounter ended tragically when Amuro accidentally killed Lalah when she flew in and blocked Amuro's critical strike towards Char with her Elmeth mobile armor.

Amuro and Lalah's relationship is most likely a platonic one. Being an emerging Newtype, Amuro often felt lonely and struggled to achieve real understanding from his fellow crews. Lalah, also a Newtype, was the first person Amuro could truly relate himself to. As a result, Amuro hated Char deeply for sending Lalah into war. He often reminisced over Lalah's death, feeling guilty to the point he refused to return to space in the fear of seeing Lalah's ghost. After he finally got over his guilt, they on occasions had spiritual conversations, which left a personality influence and disrupted Amuro's relationships with other female admirers such as Beltorchika Irma, Chan Agi and Quess Paraya. Amuro apparently is the only individual who has such a profound bonding to Lalah, as Char is never shown to have such level of spiritual connection in the TV series or the movie.

Sayla Mass
Though not explicitly stated in the series, it is implied that Amuro develops a close relationship with fellow crew member Sayla Mass. Both have been thrust into the One Year War and both come to learn that they are Newtypes. At the end of the series, Amuro and Sayla discover that they have the ability to communicate telepathically to each other. When Amuro and Char engage in vengeful combat at A Baoa Qu, Sayla openly shouts for them not to continue fighting, worried that either or both of them will be killed.

The novelization of Mobile Suit Gundam is even more obvious about a romance between Amuro and Sayla. Some time after they are both assigned to White Base, Amuro asks Sayla out to dinner. The two of them eat and chat, and discuss what it's like to be Newtypes. Later, Sayla visits Amuro in his quarters after-hours and the two of them have sex, thus starting a very intense relationship between them. When Amuro is killed by Char's mobile suit forces at the end of the story, Amuro's mind takes one last moment to reach out to Sayla's and expresses his love for her, along with his regret at not being able to spend his life with her. Sayla returns the affection and later tells her brother that he killed the man she loved. At the end of the war, Sayla communicates to Amuro's consciousness, and he tells her that he is with her.