by With the currently airing anime “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX,” Sharia Bull, who appeared in “Mobile Suit Gundam,” has become extremely popular as the “Green Uncle.” However, have you forgotten that “Mobile Suit Gundam” also had a “Blue Uncle” named Ramba Ral (voiced by Masashi Hirose)?
Ramba Ral, known as the “Blue Giant,” is the son of Jimba Ral, a close aide to Zeon Zum Deikun, who conflicted with the Zabi family. As a result, he is in a difficult position in the Zeon military, where the Zabi family plays a central role. However, he is trusted by his subordinates because he performs his duties honestly as a soldier and goes to the front lines himself. Many anime fans have probably heard Ramba say, “This isn’t a Zaku; this isn’t a Zaku!”
For the main character, Amuro Ray (voiced by Furuya Toru ), Ramba is an enemy, but in a way, he is also like a “master.” After coming into contact with Ramba’s humanity and suffering bitterly in battle, Amuro resolves to become a warrior, vowing, “I… want to defeat that man…!” In other words, Ramba’s way of being a warrior was the catalyst for Amuro’s growth.
Ramba, one of the most popular characters in Mobile Suit Gundam, meets a tragic end in episode 20. As mentioned above, he is the son of Jimba Ral, and in fact, he once met Sayla Mass (voiced by Inoue Yo), the daughter of Zeon Zum Deikun. When Ramba bumps into Sayla on the battlefield, he shows signs of shock, saying, “Are you a princess…?”
Ryu Josei (voiced by Shozo Iizuka) rushes in with a gun in hand, wounding Ramba. Realizing that the plan has failed, Ramba orders his subordinates to retreat and sighs, “Ramba Ral, you forgot to fight amid the battle.”
Then, in front of the Earth Federation soldiers, he takes his own life with a grenade in his hand, saying, “You have fought well. But you must see what a soldier’s destiny is.” Even after nearly 50 years since the broadcast of “Mobile Suit Gundam,” many fans are still fascinated by Ramba’s life as a warrior.
The currently streaming anime series Mobile Suit Gundam is a robot anime produced by Sunrise, which aired from April 1979 to January 1980 and was directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It pioneered a new genre called “real robot anime” and had a massive impact on the robot anime that followed.
The ratings were poor when it was first broadcast, but its popularity soared with reruns and theatrical releases, and it even gave rise to a “Gunpla” boom. Many subsequent Gundam series and spin-offs have been produced, and the franchise remains popular to this day. A new anime series, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX, is airing in April 2025.
