:Amuro Ray

Amuro's first appearance is in the television series Mobile Suit Gundam. Amuro is a talented amateur mechanic, who spends a lot of time in building different mechanical parts with little social interactions with other people, and as a hobby designed the basketball-sized talking robot Haro. He is the son of Tem Ray, the project leader for the Earth Federation's Project V, which produces the prototype mobile suits Gundam, among other mechas to combat the Principality of Zeon's Zaku. When Char Aznable sends a group of Zeon mobile suits in a reconnaissance mission on Side 7, one of the new recruits from the squad decides to attack the colony. In sheer desperation, Amuro ends up piloting the RX-78-2 Gundam to defend his home.{{cite episode | title = Gundam Rising| series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =April 7, 1979 | number = 1}}

Using his intuition and reading the manual, Amuro manages to start up the Gundam and defeat the two attacking Zaku mobile suits. Seeing his potential, Earth Federation Captain Bright Noa assigns the reluctant Amuro to the Gundam and repeatedly sends the boy out against Zeon forces. It is in Earth orbit that Amuro first goes into personal battle against Char.{{cite episode | title =Re-Entry to Earth| series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =May 5, 1979 | number =5}} Still being a novice, Amuro fares poorly, but still manages to fend off Char's attack. When White Base finally lands on Earth, Amuro deserts the ship after overhearing Bright discussing with Mirai Yashima about replacing Amuro from piloting the Gundam. Amuro abandons the crew with the Gundam,{{cite episode | title = Amuro Deserts| series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =July 28, 1979 | number = 17}} but after finding out about Zeon Ramba Ral's attempted attack on White Base, he rushes back to his friends and helps resolve the situation.{{cite episode | title = Ramba Ral's Attack| series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =August 11, 1979| number = 19}} During the Operation Odessa, the death of Matilda Ajan causes him to realize he is not the only one affected by the war.{{cite episode | title = The Battle of Odessa| series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =September 22, 1979 | number = 24}} Across his battles, Amuro gets his own nickname during the One Year War: the {{nihongo|"White Devil"|白い悪魔|Shiroi Akuma}}.

Across the war, Amuro first meets the Newtype girl Lalah Sune on the lakeside of Side 6, and immediately developed a bonding. Amuro and Char Aznable faced off several times during the course of the One Year War. He sensed Lalah's Newtype ability when fighting Char's Gelgoog in Side 5's Texas Colony. Their encounter ends tragically when Amuro accidentally kills Lalah when she blocks Amuro's critical strike towards Char with her MAN-08 Elmeth mobile armor.{{cite episode | title = Cosmic Glow| series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =January 12, 1980 | number = 43}} Amuro and Char's feelings resulting from this culminate in the battle of A Baoa Qu where Amuro and Char destroy each other's mobile suit through fierce fighting, and then continued fighting with side arms and eventually a sword duel. Char eventually stops fighting and Amuro reunites with his crew members.{{cite episode | title = Escape | series = Mobile Suit Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =January 26, 1980 | number = 43}}

In the sequel Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Amuro is placed under house arrest shortly after the war due to the government's mistrust of Newtypes. While he lives in a luxurious mansion and is officially free to come and go as he pleases, Amuro's house servants are actually government agents assigned to keep track of his movements. Amuro works as a trainer/adviser in the Cheyenne Mobile Suit Academy up until the time of the Gryps Conflict. He suffers from chronic combat fatigue and is afraid of going to space and facing Lalah's spirit.{{cite episode | title = Amuro Flies Again| series = Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =June 8, 1985 | number = 14}}{{cite episode | title =Katz's Sortie| series = Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate =June 15, 1985 | number = 15}}

During the Gryps Conflict, a pregnant Fraw Bow, with her three adopted children, come to visit Amuro. They manage to re-ignite Amuro's fighting spirit and help him escape from his government handlers. After joining the Karaba (AEUG's earth-bound ally), Amuro becomes a key figure within the group, leading several crucial missions, including the attack on the Titans' base in Mount Kilimanjaro and the seizing of Federation's Congress Building in Dakar. He later goes to space to fight the Neo Zeon. After the first Neo Zeon movement, Amuro joins the Earth Federation's Londo Bell group led by Bright Noa, and serves as the combat squad commander.{{cite episode | title = Reccoa's Shadow| series = Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam| network = Nagoya Broadcasting Network | airdate= November 23, 1985| number = 38}}

During the second Neo-Zeon movement depicted in the 1988 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, 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 despite managing to hold his fight against the funnel-equipped Char and Gyunei altogether, Amuro is unable to stop Neo-Zeon dropping Luna V on the Federation's Lhasa headquarters. Traveling to the Moon, Anaheim Electronics soon delivers to him the RX-93 Nu Gundam, a highly advanced mobile suit largely designed by Amuro himself. At Battle of Axis, after defeating Char's MSN-04 Sazabi in the duel and capturing Char's escape pod, Amuro attempts to single-handedly stop the asteroid from colliding with Earth by pushing it with his Nu Gundam. His action inspires other mobile suits to join in, even Neo-Zeon soldiers. Although he eventually succeeds, the act overloads Nu Gundam's psychoframe construct, killing him along with Char.{{cite video | people=Tomino, Yoshiyuki (Director) |year=1988| title=Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack| medium=VHS | location=Japan | publisher=Sunrise}}

In Yoshiyuki Tomino's novelization of Mobile Suit Gundam, Amuro is already a member from the Federation in the start. In this version Amuro is killed in the final attack against the Zeonic stronghold of A Baoa Qu when his RX-78-3 is pierced through the torso by a Rick Dom's beam bazooka. However, after his death, Amuro's consciousness communicates with Char's sister, Sayla Mass, and tells her she is not alone.{{cite book | last = Tomino | first = Yoshiyuki | title = Mobile Suit Gundam | publisher = Stone Bridge Press | location = Berkeley | year = 2004 | pages = 11 | isbn = 1-880656-86-8}} The first version of Char's Counterattack, High Streamer, follows Amuro's actions in his final fight against Char which were later adapted in the film. Tomino also wrote another novel titled Beltorchika's Children that had Amuro as a family man and reported as killed in action in the ending.{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-05-15/gundam/char-counterattack-beltorchika-children-gets-manga|title=Gundam: Char's Counterattack: Beltorchika's Children Gets Manga|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 29, 2023|archive-date=August 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829190746/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-05-15/gundam/char-counterattack-beltorchika-children-gets-manga|url-status=live}} A animated film adaptation based on the "Cucuruz Doan's Island" episode Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island (2022) recreates one of Amuro's early stories from the first television series.{{cite web|last1=Hodgkins|first1=Crystalyn|title=Yoshikazu Yasuhiko Directs Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island Anime Film Opening in 2022|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-09-15/yoshikazu-yasuhiko-directs-gundam-cucuruz-doan-island-anime-film-opening-in-2022/.177387|website=Anime News Network|access-date=September 15, 2021|date=September 15, 2021|archive-date=April 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427041111/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-09-15/yoshikazu-yasuhiko-directs-gundam-cucuruz-doan-island-anime-film-opening-in-2022/.177387|url-status=live}}

Amuro appears in cameo-form in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, in the form of a photo portrait on the wall of the Captain Bright Noa's office on board his vessel. In the final OVA for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, the voice of Amuro can be heard as he speaks to Char as they depart along with Lalah Sune's spirit from the now dead body of Full Frontal. Although Amuro makes no other appearance in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, he is referenced by several of its characters. Another episode of Gundam Evolve retcons an event from Char's Counterattack where Amuro confronts Char's underling Quess Paraya convincing her to stop fighting. He then convinces her to fly towards Hathaway Noa to save Hathaway.{{cite video|title=Gundam Evolve|year=2016|publisher=Sunrise|format=DVD|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-05-03/north-american-anime-manga-releases-may-1-7/.101739|access-date=August 29, 2023|archive-date=June 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608190058/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-05-03/north-american-anime-manga-releases-may-1-7/.101739|url-status=live}} Amuro also appears in the manga Mobile Suit Vs. Giant God of Legend: Gigantis' Counterattack where he joins forces with Char and Judau Ashta to stop the Neo Zeon from using the massive Gigantis to cause destruction.{{cite book|title=逆襲のギガンティス―機動戦士vs伝説巨神 (ノーラコミックス・デラックス) コミック – 1992/11/7|id={{ASIN|4051061523|country=jp}} }} He is also the protagonist of the manga series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin which retells the events of the first Gundam TV series with the original video animation showing his childhood.{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/the-origin/gn-1|title=Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin GN 1 - 3|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 29, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-10-21/gundam-the-origin-brings-back-amuro-fraw-hayato-kai/.107921|title=Gundam the Origin Brings Back Amuro, Fraw, Hayato, Kai|website=Anime News Network|date=October 21, 2016|access-date=August 29, 2023|archive-date=August 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829204102/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-10-21/gundam-the-origin-brings-back-amuro-fraw-hayato-kai/.107921|url-status=live}} The character is also parodied in the comedy Mobile Suit Gundam-san.{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-06-24/mobile-suit-gundam-san-tv-anime-slated-to-premiere-on-july-6/.75923|title=Mobile Suit Gundam-san TV Anime Slated to Premiere on July 6|website=Anime News Network|access-date=August 29, 2023}}

Amuro is also a recurring character in the Gundam video games. He is present in the Gundam crossovers series including Gundam: Battle Assault, Gundam vs., Dynasty Warriors: Gundam and SD Gundam. {{cite web|last1=DeRienzo|first1=David|author2=Ganelon|author3=Sandrock|author4=ZZZ|url=https://hg101.kontek.net/gundam/gundam3.htm|title=Gundam 2D Fighting Games - Gundam: Battle Assault 2 - PlayStation (2002)|work=Hardcore Gaming 101|date=2008|page=3|access-date=August 30, 2021|archive-date=September 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929015701/https://hg101.kontek.net/gundam/gundam3.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.3djuegos.com/juegos/dynasty-warriors-gundam/analisis/review-dynasty-warriors-gundam-071212-824|website=3DJuegos|access-date=August 28, 2023|title=Análisis de Dynasty Warriors Gundam|date=December 12, 2007 }}{{cite web|title=SD Gundam Battle Alliance - Reseña - GamerFocus|website=Gamer Focus|date=October 3, 2022|access-date=August 29, 2023|url=https://www.gamerfocus.co/juegos/videojuego-sd-gundam-battle-alliance-resena-analisis/|archive-date=August 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829220755/https://www.gamerfocus.co/juegos/videojuego-sd-gundam-battle-alliance-resena-analisis/|url-status=live}} He also appears in mecha crossover series including Super Robot Wars and Another Century's Episode.{{cite web|url=https://www.siliconera.com/super-robot-wars-30-makes-the-multiverse-feel-massive/|title=Super Robot Wars 30 Makes The Multiverse Feel Massive|website=Siliconera|date=November 29, 2021 |access-date=August 28, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/320/320847/|title=PSP版『アナザーセンチュリーズエピソード』は武器パネルもカスタマイズできる！|website=Dengeki Online|access-date=August 28, 2023|archive-date=August 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828233548/https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/320/320847/|url-status=live}}

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Yoshiyuki Tomino originally created "Freedom Fighter", which was a project proposal for Mobile Suit Gundam, was planned as a space version of "Jugo Shonen Houryuuki". According to Masao Iizuka of the Japan Sunrise Planning Office Desk, who drafted the plan, Briand's younger brother was not interesting in setting the main character because Briand, who is the leader of the same work, and Doniphan (Donovan), who is a rival, lacked interest in models. Jack, who temporarily becomes introverted, and that became the prototype of Amuro. At that time, computers were just beginning to become commonplace, and he thought that such a high-tech child would be able to do many things, so he chose a slightly introverted boy as the main character.Masao Iizuka INTERVIEW The secret of the birth of "Mobile Suit Gundam" How did "Gundam" stand on the ground" "Gundam Age Gundam Reader for the Gunpla Generation" Yosensha, April 1999, 63- 64 pages.{{Cite web |url=https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20150717-a441/ |title=ガンダム展が明日から東京で！アムロの初期設定に古谷徹も驚き |access-date=2023-08-30 |archive-date=2023-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830003904/https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20150717-a441/ |url-status=live }} "Hongo Higashi (Azuma)" in the initial draft drawn by Yasuhiko. The name Amuro Ray was invented by general director Yoshiyuki Tomino over the course of a monthHideo Ogata ed. "Mobile Suit Gundam Can you survive looking at this? Gundam 67 questions from fans" "Animage 1979 December 2012 issue”, December 10, 1979. Magazine 01577-12, pp. 23-24. Ryusuke Hikawa/{{ill|Ryota Fujitsu|ja|藤津亮太}} ed. "Chapter 2 TV version, music, and Gundam 67 questions from fans (1979) )” “From the Gundam scene Yoshiyuki Tomino remarks” {{ill|Kinema Junposha|ja|キネマ旬報}}, October 16, 2000. ISBN 4-87376-537-4, pages 68-70. Later, in Tomino's "Mobile Suit Gundam Setting Book / Original Draft", it was written as "Amuro Rei"."Gunboy Planning Memo" "From the Gundam Site Yoshiyuki Tomino Statement" Kinema Junposha, October 2000, 25 pages. Yasuhiko drew the idea of "let's make it a red curly hair and make it a carrot-like character". Also, in Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's image, Amuro was "foreigner" with red hair and blue eyes, but due to compromises, he is said to be a "Nisei" with brown hair and dark eyes.{{cite web |url=https://febri.jp/topics/series-amuro-7-1/ |title=「アムロ・レイの演じ方〜古谷徹の演技・人物論〜」第7回（前編） |website=Febri |date=December 19, 2022 |accessdate=December 19, 2022 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219032215/https://febri.jp/topics/series-amuro-7-1/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://febri.jp/topics/series-amuro-7-3/ |title=「アムロ・レイの演じ方〜古谷徹の演技・人物論〜」第7回（後編） |website=Febri |date=December 21, 2022 |accessdate=December 21, 2022 |archive-date=June 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601203038/https://febri.jp/topics/series-amuro-7-3/ |url-status=live }}

File:AmuroRayconceptartwork.png

Tomino gave the Gundam main character the name Amuro believing such word did not exist. However, three months after the show aired, Tomino received a letter from Sunrise informing him there was an island named Amuro in Okinawa.{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-12-12/a-short-talk-with-yoshiyuki-tomino|title=A Short Talk with Yoshiyuki Tomino|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=November 15, 2013|date=December 12, 2002|archive-date=April 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423174325/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-12-12/a-short-talk-with-yoshiyuki-tomino|url-status=live}} Amuro was introduced as an ordinary man in contrast to his rival Char Aznable. As a result, he found Amuro hard to write as he was meant to oppose Char whom Tomino found more interesting.{{cite web|url=https://otakumode.com/news/562c41a7a1c66b3f299ecf58/Interview-with-Yoshiyuki-Tomino-the-Creator-of-Gundam?page=2|title=Interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino, the Creator of Gundam|date=October 30, 2015|publisher=Otaku Mode|access-date=July 11, 2020|archive-date=July 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711181340/https://otakumode.com/news/562c41a7a1c66b3f299ecf58/Interview-with-Yoshiyuki-Tomino-the-Creator-of-Gundam?page=2|url-status=live}} In one scene of an early episode, Amuro is slapped by Bright as a method of correction. Tomino considered this scene vital as he found this type of violence needed for a young person to mature most notably due to the way Amuro was misbehaving.{{cite web|url=https://blog.alltheanime.com/yoshiyuki-tomino-the-interview/|title=YOSHIYUKI TOMINO: THE INTERVIEW|date=November 19, 2015|publisher=All The Anime|access-date=June 22, 2019|archive-date=December 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226014604/https://blog.alltheanime.com/yoshiyuki-tomino-the-interview/|url-status=live}} Shin Sasaki from Sunrise considers the final scene from the Mobile Suit Gundam film trilogy where Amuro returns to White Base as one of the most memorable ones from the entire franchise. Meanwhile, Amuro has a close relationship with Fraw Bow ever since childhood and remain friendly in the White Base. Yasuhiko had problems with Tomino's commentary about how these two characters do not end in a relationship. Instead, there is no further appeal between their relationship in Zeta Gundam where Amuro instead becomes more attracted to Sayla Mass, possibly due to her being his type of woman according to the staff. Amuro was announced by Tomino as a new type of being as reflected in how society needs this new type of human being. Tomino considered Amuro "kind of simple for the potential that human beings can reach in the future."{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2009-09-14/yoshiyuki-tomino-press-conference/2|title=Q&A with Yoshiyuki Tomino|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=November 15, 2013|date=September 14, 2009|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220174138/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2009-09-14/yoshiyuki-tomino-press-conference/2|url-status=live}} Yasuhiko stated that Amuro's misrelationship with the members of the crew of the White Base and his mother were outstanding by the time the series premiered in contrast to previous conventional heroes who would make up with each other.{{cite magazine|year=2015|issue=444|magazine=Animage|title=This Month's Interview: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko}}

Originally, Tomino did not want to include Amuro in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and when trying to kill him, he failed to do it. As a result, he decided to put Amuro on a friendly relationship with Char. The relationship the two rivals have in Zeta Gundam due to proper understanding between the two soldiers.{{cite book|title=機動戦士Zガンダム 大事典|year=1986|publisher=Rapport}} In regards to Char's Counterattack, Tomino created the movie to end Amuro and Char's rivalry.{{cite book|title=M.S.GUNDAM FAN CLUB CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK / ハッピー興行新社|publisher=Sunrise|year=1993}} While the story was written to primarily centered around Char's hypocristic ideal, Amuro would oppose them. Nevertheless, Char provides Amuro with weaponry to support his Mobile Suit so that both would fight on equal terms. The intense exchanges between both of them are compared with Tomino's own feeling of being tired after working on several series. Tomino believes Amuro's popularity in the film can be due to how the audience could easily empathize with the protagonist's problems.{{cite web|url=https://natalie.mu/comic/pp/gundam_cca-f91|title=「機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア」4KリマスターBOX|website=Natalie|access-date=August 27, 2023|archive-date=August 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827221408/https://natalie.mu/comic/pp/gundam_cca-f91|url-status=live}} Kawai personally wanted the film to properly depict Amuro's mecha RX-78-02 Gundam in the same fashion as the original television series from 1978.{{cite web|url=https://www.zeonic-republic.net/?p=9284|title=CUCURUZ DOAN'S ISLAND INTERVIEW (aka NOT THE ORIGIN!)|website=Zeonic Republic|access-date=November 1, 2022|archive-date=November 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101214505/https://www.zeonic-republic.net/?p=9284|url-status=live}}

Original plans for Char's Counterattack would involve Amuro becoming married which bothered the producers. Still, to Tomino, it seemed like the most critical opinion in planning the movie production, and he adopted it as a critical point. Tomino expressed that since Gundam was still the mecha genre, he could not make Amuro become somebody's possession that leads to a normal life. Tomino believes je have not forgotten this principle regarding combat. As for the characters, the world of Gundam is a story of evolving humans, which inevitably leads to the "denial of things" and "denial of machines." This is what is meant by the "denial of Amuro's marriage."{{cite magazine|title=Beltorchika's Children|publisher=Takuma Shoten|year=1987|issue=88|author=Tomino, Yoshiyuki}}

File:Furuya Toru The World of Gundam at Opening Ceremony of the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival (22243451158) Cropped.jpg

He is voiced by Tōru Furuya in Japanese. Toru Furuya also liked the scene where Amuro contacts his friends using his Newtype powers.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt9S9-6dyTw#t=1425&hd=1 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/mt9S9-6dyTw| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Gundam Panel at Animazement 2014 - Part1

|website=YouTube |access-date=August 27, 2014}}{{cbignore}} Although Amuro was not his favorite character in his career, Furuya had fun in his work as during recordings of the series, he befriended Char's voice Actor, Shuichi Ikeda. However, he was not close to Tomino.{{cite web|url=https://www.kaorinusantara.or.id/english/2987/animaga-2016-interview-with-tooru-furuya|title=Animaga 2016: Interview with Tooru Furuya|date=November 28, 2016|publisher=kaorinusantara|access-date=July 11, 2020|archive-date=July 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713204653/https://www.kaorinusantara.or.id/english/2987/animaga-2016-interview-with-tooru-furuya|url-status=live}} By Char's Conterattack, Furuya was close to his own age (35 years old) at the time of recording (29 years old), so he tried to act like an adult with a sense of responsibility. Since Amuro had not yet appeared, it was unclear how his mental state in Zeta Gundam led to his resurrection in this work. It is said that until the recording of the scene involving Agi, he was dragging the youthful part of Zeta Gundam. Furuya talks about Beltorchika Irma, Amuro's partner who ended up not appearing, and although she was a necessary existence for Amuro in the days of Zeta Gundam, she is not an ideal partner, but rather Chan Agi is Amuro's ideal. In a later interview, he said that he interpreted it as a close existence, and that such feelings subconsciously appeared in the play. Published on the 21st of the month, Bandai Namco Film Works Co., Ltd., P350-353

For Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island (2022), Furuya found his work nostalgic and stated that the film made emphasis of how clashing was the relationship between Amuro and his superior, Captain Bright Noa.{{cite web|url=https://news.qoo-app.com/en/post/101104/gundam-cucuruz-doans-island|title=Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island – Interview with Director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, Voice Actors Tōru Furuya, and Shunsuke Takeuchi|website=News qq|date=June 21, 2022|access-date=November 1, 2022|archive-date=November 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101200424/https://news.qoo-app.com/en/post/101104/gundam-cucuruz-doans-island|url-status=live}} Furuya elaborated that Yasuhiko's idea was making the movie realistic with Amuro acting more mature in relationship with the children. Another theme of the film was how the youth's lives are being ruined by the plot of the One Year War story from the original television series. Further commentary, Furuya was glad with the popularity he achieved by voicing Amuro for over 40 years. He said that while Amuro also had popularity, he could not surpass his rival, Char, a common trait he sometimes find common in anime where there are rivalries. He further stated that "nowadays you can see the encouragement through SNS, I like how a lot of followers appear in Twitter, and I'm very surprised at his popularity"{{cite book|title=Detective Conan Movie 22 Guidebook |page=55}}

Multiple English actors provided Amuro's voice. Brad Swaile voiced him in the original TV series, Char's Counterattack, and the majority of the licensed Gundam video games. Michael Lindsay dubbed him in the three movie compilations, Matthew Erickson in Zeta Gundam and the Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam video game. Meanwhile, for Origin Fryda Wolff provided the voice of a young Amuro while Lucien Dodge portrayed the older one.{{cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Mobile-Suit-Gundam/Amuro-Ray/|title=Amuro Ray|website=Behind the Voice Actors|access-date=August 29, 2023|archive-date=August 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830002537/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Mobile-Suit-Gundam/Amuro-Ray/|url-status=live}}

Amuro Ray's character has been well received by publications for anime and other media. John Oppliger from AnimeNation observes that the character of Amuro, to whom the young Japanese of that time could easily relate, made a major contribution to the series' popularity.{{cite web|url=http://www.animenation.net/blog/2008/05/16/ask-john-why-are-gundam-fans-so-obsessed-with-first-gundam/|title=Ask John: Why Are Gundam Fans So Obsessed With First Gundam?|date=May 16, 2008|author=John Oppliger|author-link=John Oppliger|publisher=AnimeNation|access-date=May 30, 2008|archive-date=May 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520103420/http://www.animenation.net/blog/2008/05/16/ask-john-why-are-gundam-fans-so-obsessed-with-first-gundam/|url-status=dead}} While his character was early seen in the TV series as depressive and stoic, writers from Anime News Network noted how Amuro was developed in the series into a soldier as he faces the pressure of having enemies and the consequences of killing others.{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/dvd-2|title=Mobile Suit Gundam DVD 2|publisher=Anime News Network|author=Shepard, Chris|date=January 21, 2002|access-date=November 28, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203110834/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/dvd-2|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/dvd-3|title=MS Gundam (Dub only) DVD Vol. 3: The Threat of Zeon|publisher=Anime News Network|author=Dong, Bamboo|date=January 27, 2002|access-date=November 28, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203091618/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/dvd-3|url-status=live}} Additionally, J. Doyle Wallis from DVD Talk saw Amuro became more matured in the series' finale despite going through one stressing situation.{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/3986/mobile-suit-gundam-movie-iii-encounters-in-space/|title=Mobile Suit Gundam Movie III Encounters in Space|publisher=DVD Talk|author=Wallis, J. Doyle|access-date=November 30, 2013|date=May 7, 2002|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032705/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/3986/mobile-suit-gundam-movie-iii-encounters-in-space/|url-status=live}} However, Amuro has often been noted to be less popular than his rival Char Aznable.Otona no Gundam (Adult's Gundam), P. 242, The popularity of Gundam that lasted for over a quarter century is not from protagonists like Amuro and Kamille, it is from Char Aznable, sometimes an arch-enemy blocking in front of the protagonist, and sometimes a teacher fighting along with them. {{ISBN|978-4-8222-6317-1}} University of Oregon writer John D. Moore argues that Gundam foregrounds the interiority of Amuro, challenging conventions governing the young protagonist. Moore

in Gundam's narrative strategies a sophisticated set of techniques employed to portray Amuro's inner life. This foregrounding of Amuro's interiority critically intervenes in the traditions of its genre and even the industrial structures that make the genre possible. The character was compared to shōnen manga-like protagonists as Amuro is the character whose interiority Gundam's narrative is most interested in representing in contrast to previous robot series from the 1970s where the main characters where more active fighters.{{cite web|url=https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/23156/Moore_oregon_0171N_12036.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=Inside The Robot: Mobile Suit Gundam and Inferiority|publisher=University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art|year=2017|access-date=August 27, 2023|archive-date=July 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710100200/https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/23156/Moore_oregon_0171N_12036.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|url-status=live}}

Amuro's rivalry with Char and their subsequent final battle in the television series, the titular mobile suit stops a fatal laser beam from killing Amuro and is reduced to slag before his eyes. This final fight destroys Char's mobile suit as well, enabling Amuro to resume battling his rival. Amuro's ability to stand fight; and ultimately, choose not to fight, is a result of his liberation from his Gundam mobile suit; which is in turn a product of the series' focus on characters over the mecha themselves. In conclusion, 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. The Netwtype powers Amuro shows across the television series were also seen as a metaphor for the protagonist's coming-of-age ceremony as there are several episodes where Amuro starts showing signs in regards of sexuality when being attracted by Lieutenant Matilda Ajan.{{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.}}

His appearances in Zeta Gundam were also praised by Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge for adding more material from the first Gundam series and for the change in several of his relationships most notably with Char from enemy to a friendly ally.{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/mobile-suit-zeta-gundam-vol-02_article_76976.html |title=Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Vol. #02 |publisher=Mania Entertainment |author=Beveridge, Chris |date=February 8, 2005 |access-date=November 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203040103/http://www.mania.com/mobile-suit-zeta-gundam-vol-02_article_76976.html |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/mobile-suit-zeta-gundam-vol-03_article_77013.html |title=Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Vol. #03 |publisher=Mania Entertainment |author=Beveridge, Chris |date=February 14, 2005 |access-date=November 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203040107/http://www.mania.com/mobile-suit-zeta-gundam-vol-03_article_77013.html |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }} Hideaki Anno, a fellow staff member who worked with Tomino several times, describes the Amuro from Zeta Gundam as a man who is ashamed of his actions in the first series and both he and Char see themselves in the new protagonist, Kamille Bidan, to the point the plot of the series came across as repetitive. Tomino responded to Anno that he aimed to give Amuro's and Char's characterization in Zeta Gundam ambiguous but stated that Kamille is too different from them to the point of labeling the new lead as autistic as a result of his heavy burden. When Kamille's first love is introduced, Tomino noted that they became more similar.{{cite video|title=Production Reference: Z Gundam Memorial Box|publisher=Sunrise}}

Allen Divers from Anime News Network found Amuro and Char's final duel the most important part from Char's Counterattack, the lack of resolution of their rivalry made the film unfulfilling.{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/gundam-char%27s-counterattack/dvd|title=Gundam: Char's Counterattack DVD|publisher=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}} In reviewing the same film, THEM Anime Reviews' Carlo Ross saw that while Amuro was overshadowed by Char, he is still an "earnest, well-meaning, and heroic character in his own right."{{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}} On the other hand, J. Doyle Wallis criticized their rivalry in the film considering it a "rehash" of the events of the television series.{{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}} While initially describing Amuro as a relatable character to general view of otaku, Journal of Anime and Manga Studies said the one from Char's Counterattack instead comes across as a war hero while still being popular. In Char's Counterattack, it is not until Amuro re engineers the RX-93 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. As one of the final installments from the Universal Century timeline created by Tomino, the impact of the narrative would result in several anime writers creating new characters that would attempt to recreate Amuro's legacy alongside fans.{{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}}

Anime News Network praised the movie for the focus on Amuro's character arc and modern themes without removing the original aspects of the franchise.{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/cucuruz-doan-island/.186357|title=Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island|website=Anime News Network|access-date=November 1, 2022|archive-date=November 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101220404/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/mobile-suit-gundam/cucuruz-doan-island/.186357|url-status=live}} The Japan Times commented that every viewer would be concerned by Amuro's safety due to how the main plot has him surviving the encounter from the original TV series but still felt returning fans would enjoy the story and how the disciplinary actions performed in White Base are contested.{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2022/06/09/films/film-reviews/mobile-suit-gundam-cucuruz-doans-island/|title='Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island' returns with an upgraded look|newspaper=The Japan Times|access-date=November 2, 2022|archive-date=November 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102215652/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2022/06/09/films/film-reviews/mobile-suit-gundam-cucuruz-doans-island/|url-status=live}}

Amuro has been popular, having been voted as the fourth most popular male character from the 1980s by Newtype readers.{{cite journal | journal=Newtype | publisher=Kadokawa Shoten | title=Newtype's Top 30 Male and Female Characters of Each Decade | date=March 2010 | language=ja}} He was ranked second in Mania Entertainment's 10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes written by Thomas Zoth who commented that he "was the first teenage pilot with moral qualms about the war he was fighting. His arrogance, capriciousness and self-doubt paved the way for the isolated, troubled characters of Neon Genesis Evangelion."{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/10-iconic-anime-heroes_article_119883.html |title=10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes |last=Zoth |first=Thomas |date=January 12, 2010 |publisher=Mania Entertainment |access-date=January 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017063118/http://www.mania.com/10-iconic-anime-heroes_article_119883.html |archive-date=October 17, 2013 }} In the first two Animage Readers' Poll, Anime Grand Prix, from 1979 and 1980 Amuro was voted as the second most popular character in anime and was beaten by Char.{{cite web|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 |publisher=Animage |language=ja |access-date=November 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917165758/http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1979.html |archive-date=September 17, 2010 }}{{cite web|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 |publisher=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 }} He appeared again in the Anime Grand Prix from 1989 as the sixteenth most popular male anime character.{{cite web|url=http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1989.html |script-title=ja:第11回アニメグランプリ |publisher=Animage |language=ja |access-date=November 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019174626/http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1989.html |archive-date=October 19, 2010 }} In an official Sunrise poll focused in the best team ups between former enemies, he and Char were first.{{cite web|title=Gundam Poll: Favorite Former Enemies Who Team Up|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-05-04/gundam-poll/favorite-former-enemies-who-team-up|date=May 4, 2012|author=Kimlinger, Carl|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=November 28, 2013|archive-date=October 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008134336/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-05-04/gundam-poll/favorite-former-enemies-who-team-up|url-status=live}} In a NHK poll, he was voted as the third best Gundam character.{{cite web|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|publisher=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}}

An EFSF military outfit was once used on a poster to encourage Japanese people to vote, and news articles refer it as the "Amuro style election poster", since the actor used is a stunt actor used in place of the voice actor of Amuro Ray.[http://www.gizmodo.jp/2007/07/post_1888.html Gizmodo Japan], You are all heroes Amuro was recognized as a culturally significant subject by the nation of Japan on October 23, 2000, with the inclusion of the suit and of the main pilot on two stamps in the 20th Century Stamp Series.Japan Philatelic Society Foundation, [http://yushu.or.jp/english/e_sdate/00jpn/00comm/00oct23c1.html The 20th Century Stamp Series 15] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602003313/http://yushu.or.jp/english/e_sdate/00jpn/00comm/00oct23c1.html |date=June 2, 2022 }} Amuro, 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.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 }} In an Anime!Anime! poll, Amuro and Quattro were voted as one of the best anime rivals turned into allies.{{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}} Merchandising beased on Amuro's underwear was also released.{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2023-10-17/now-you-can-buy-amuro-underpants-from-gundam/.203465|title=Now You Can Buy Amuro's Underpants From Gundam|website=Anime News Network|access-date=October 18, 2023|archive-date=October 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017123100/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2023-10-17/now-you-can-buy-amuro-underpants-from-gundam/.203465|url-status=live}}

Anime director Goro Taniguchi was often asked if his character Suzaku Kururugi from Code Geass was inspired by Amuro as a result of several similarities such as how both pilot a white mecha and share a rivalry with a masked man; in Suzaku's case it is Lelouch Lamperouge. Although Taniguchi denied this claims, insisting that Suzaku was instead based on Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, he still noticed there were several similarities in retrospective. When comparing these two rivalries, Taniguchi commented that while Amuro and Char became rivals in war, Suzaku and Lelouch were instead close friends before an eventual war in Code Geass where they become recurring enemies.{{cite web|url=https://fullfrontal.moe/goro-taniguchi-interview/|title=Creating anime beyond any boundaries – Gorō Taniguchi Long Interview|website=Full Frontal|access-date=October 7, 2023|archive-date=October 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009151906/https://fullfrontal.moe/goro-taniguchi-interview/|url-status=live}}

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