In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the history of Charma (Char x Garma) and Charmuro (Char x Amuro), two of the most popular and influential BL pairings in Gundam, using doujinshi (self-published print works made by fans) as the point of reference. We’ll first focus on the raw data and note any visible trends, then theorize on the influences that may have played a role in each one’s rise in popularity.
As a disclaimer, I of course wasn’t involved in the fandom, much less the Japanese fandom, during the periods of time I’m discussing, and as such my judgements are solely based on the data I could find and not personal experience.
Where does this data come from?
Before we get into the results, I want to quickly explain where I pulled this information from for the purposes of transparency.
My sources are:
- Surugaya
- Mandarake
- YJA Auction Listings (current and old)
- pixiv (ads for printed books only)
- Toranoana and similar shopping sites
For determining release date, I either go by what is on the cover/interior (if shown), or what is listed in the store or auction description. I also rely on these sources to tell me if a book includes the pairing I’m looking for, as it’s hard to know any other way unless the cover makes it obvious.
It’s important to mention here that my data pulls are NOT comprehensive by any means. I exclude any books that have no release date listed, are digital only, or have no cover. Plus it’s just not possible to find every single doujinshi ever made, since many older ones probably have no trace online anywhere. There is also some inherent bias in using a second hand source, but unless I find a complete catalog somewhere, this is the best I’ve been able to do for the moment.
Charma
For each of these pairings, I put together a Google Spreadsheet documenting all of the doujinshi I found. These are a bit image heavy and make take some time to load.
General Trends
As expected, Charma was the dominating force in from around 1979-1982. It was pretty dormant through the late 1980s and 1990s before having a resurgence in the mid 2000s (I’ll discuss why in a later section). You also probably noticed the large spike in a category I labeled 198X. This is because I know the book’s publishing circle was active in the 1980s (among other context clues) but I don’t know the exact date.
Charmuro
Here’s the link to the Charmuro version of the spreadsheet.
General Trends
Charmuro’s timeline is interesting. It didn’t take off as the Gundam BL pairing juggernaut we now know until the early 2000s, then held pretty steady all the way through today. It was pretty nonexistent in the 1980s, especially compared to Charma, despite the release of Zeta and Char’s Counterattack.
Comparison
With these trends in mind, I plotted both on the same graph to see how they would compare.
Influences on Popularity
It’s one thing to plot all of this information, but another to understand the why behind it all. Of course, this is a complex issue, and one that is beyond the scope of a simple blog post like this, however I want to at least give a brief synopsis of some of the factors that may have played a role.
The Changing Landscape of BL
Though it’s difficult to quantify, I think it’s worth mentioning the differing trends in BL works in the 1980s, when Charma experienced its surge in popularity, and the 2000s, when Charmuro exploded onto the scene.
In a contemporary sense, BL developed in the 1970s as a sub genre of shoujo manga (shounen-ai), with works from this period focusing on romantic relationships between beautiful, androgynous men. A great example is Kaze to Ki no Uta by Keiko Takemiya. The mid 1970s and 80s were also the very first years of Comic Market (Comiket), an event that would become the largest doujinshi convention in the world. Influenced by these works, these early years were very popular for creators of what became known as yaoi doujinshi. Mobile Suit Gundam‘s original run in 1979-1980 fell right within this window, and hence the early boom of Charma-related works.
Of course by the early 2000s, the landscape of BL and yaoi doujinshi had changed considerably. The genre itself had become more mainstream and more modern tropes had begun to take hold. This, combined with a new generation becoming exposed to Gundam for the first time, in my opinion, played a big role in the influx of Charmuro works right at the turn of the millennium. Judging by Comiket attendance numbers as well, doujinshi sales were also more popular than ever, as until the 2020 pandemic, Comiket participation rose or held steady nearly every year.
With that bit of context established, lets take a look at release dates of various Gundam media and see how they line up.
Gundam Release Dates
Here’s a quick summary of release dates I think are relevant to the discussion.
Original Release Years (TV/Theater/Print)
| Year | Title |
| 1979 | Mobile Suit Gundam (TV) |
| 1981-1982 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy |
| 1985 | Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam |
| 1988 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack |
| 2001-2011 | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Manga |
| 2005-2006 | Zeta New Translation 1-3 |
| 2005 | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Manga: To War (Beginning) |
| 2015-2016 | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin OVAs (I-IV) |
| 2017-2018 | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin OVAs (V-VI) |
| 2019 | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (TV) |
Home Video Releases
| Year | Title | Format |
| 1982 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy | VHS |
| 1987 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy Box Set | LaserDisc |
| 1990 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack | VHS |
| 1990 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack | LaserDisc |
| 1990-1991 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy | LaserDisc |
| 1994 | Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam vol. 1-13 | VHS |
| 1994 | Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Memorial Box Part 1 & 2 | LaserDisc |
| 1996 | Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: vol. 1-12 | LaserDisc |
| 1998 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy Box Set | VHS |
| 2000 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy Special Edition Box Set | DVD |
| 2001 | Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Box Set | DVD |
| 2001 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack | DVD |
| 2005-2006 | Zeta New Translation | DVD |
| 2006-2007 | Mobile Suit Gundam TV Series Box Sets | DVD |
| 2011 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack | Blu-ray |
| 2012 | Zeta New Translation | Blu-ray |
| 2013 | Mobile Suit Gundam TV Series | Blu-ray |
| 2014 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy | Blu-ray |
| 2015-2017 | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin OVA | DVD/Blu-ray |
| 2019 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack | Blu-ray |
| 2020 | Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy (4k Ultra) | Blu-ray |
Graph Overlays
Overlaying these dates with the previous yearly counts gives the following:
The terms of Charma doujinshi, aside from the obvious early 1980s dominance, I think a combination of the Origin Manga (notably the flashback chapters) and OVAs helped revive the pairing, as well as increased accessibility of Mobile Suit Gundam TV (abbreviated MSG here) on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Even more so than with Charma, I think the importance of increased accessibility thanks to DVD and Blu-ray in terms of the Charmuro boom in the early 2000s is obvious. For example, while the movie trilogy was available for purchase on VHS and LaserDisc in the 1980s, they came with hefty price tags – approximately 17,500 yen per VHS and 30,000 yen for the LD Box.
I also have to wonder if new fans being introduced to Gundam through spin offs like Wing and SEED played a role as well.
Final Thoughts
Now that I’ve shown you all the data, here are my final thoughts regarding each pairing in reference to what has been discussed here.
Charma
- The dominating force of Gundam BL doujinshi in the early 1980s due to the growing popularity of BL doujinshi in the mid-1970s
- Dropped off in the late 1980s through the 1990s
- Accessibility of the MSG movie and TV series on DVD in the early 2000s
- Flashback chapters in the Origin manga and later OVAs/TV series revived it in the latter half of the 2000s and into the 2010s
Charmuro
- All but nonexistent in the early years of Gundam fan works
- A combination of BL becoming more mainstream and accessibility thanks to DVD sales created the perfect conditions for this pairing to appear almost out of nowhere in the early 2000s
- Has held strong as an iconic pair ever since
Which isn’t to say either is better or worse, or more or less important. If you take anything from all this, I hope it’s an increased appreciation for both pairings and their place in Gundam fandom history.
I just want to reiterate again that this article is not meant to serve as a comprehensive resource, but rather one person’s effort to dig into the data and see if a timeline could be pieced together. There are plenty of things I could have included in addition, like movie re-screenings or TV re-runs to name a few, but this article already is quite long. Maybe I’ll make a follow up at some point if I find more information.
If you notice any errors, let me know and I’ll make corrections as necessary. And if you made it this far, thank you for reading!
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