Mobile Suit
Gundam: Characters
Story Synopsis
Characters
Mechanics
Next: The 08th MS Team
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AMURO RAY The hero of the series and the pilot of the RX-78 Gundam, Amuro is a sullen and antisocial youth more comfortable with machines than people. His parents separated when he was a child, and Amuro moved with his father Tem Ray to the under-construction Side 7. Here, Tem concentrated on his military research, leaving Amuro's neighbor Frau Bow to look after the boy and make sure he remembered to eat his breakfast. Amuro's knack for gadgetry is demonstrated by his hand-made toy robot, the notorious Haro.
Once fate places Amuro in the cockpit of the prototype Gundam, his life and personality begin to change dramatically. Though Amuro is fiercely possessive of the Gundam, which he regards as his personal property, he begins to form genuine friendships and develop a sense of duty and compassion. He also begins to manifest his latent newtype abilities, which not only make him a ferocious combatant but also lead him into a doomed rapport with enemy pilot Lalah Sun.
Longtime Amuro watchers will note that he has two special talents in addition to being a newtype killing machine: A knack for electronics, and a penchant for leaping out of moving vehicles.
BRIGHT NOAH Originally a Federal Forces cadet, just six months in uniform, Bright finds himself the highest-ranking survivor of the White Base crew after the surpise attack on Side 7. Rising to the occasion, he proves himself a superb captain and leader, with a stiff British reserve and a swift backhand for disobedient pilots. Bright's military background and no-nonsense temperament place him at odds with his crew of civilian recruits, but eventually he begins to loosen up a little.
MIRAI YASHIMA A civilian living at Side 7, Mirai's space glider training makes her the best candidate to man the White Base's helm. Her level-headedness and subtle newtype capabilities make her an excellent ship's pilot, as well as Bright's trusted advisor and confidante (indeed, in the TV series she serves as captain when Bright is incapacitated).
Mirai's personal life is rather complicated. The daughter of a high-ranking Federation official who resigned in protest against the government's policies, she's initally engaged to pacifist Cameron Bloom, flirts briefly with pilot Sleggar Rowe, and ultimately settles down with Bright.
SAYLA MASS A medical student living at Side 7, Sayla first serves as the White Base's communications officer, then becomes a pilot (in the TV series, she flies the G-Fighter; in the movies, the Core Booster). In the Gundam novelization, she carries on a torrid affair with ace pilot Amuro Ray, but there's no indication of this in the animation. As the orphan daughter of the martyred Zeon Daikun, and the estranged sister of enemy ace Char Aznable, Sayla apparently has enough to worry about already.
Though Char constantly urges her to leave the Federal Forces and stay out of his way, Sayla serves out the duration of the war aboard the White Base, and then quits the Federal Forces and essentially disappears from the Gundam series for good (though she does crop up here and there in bit parts and improbable cameos).
RYU JOSE One of the few surviving military personnel aboard the White Base, the hulking but genial Ryu serves as a liason between the overly reserved Bright and the unruly civilian pilots. When he's not risking life and limb by entering combat in a puny Core Fighter, Ryu can be seen co-piloting the Guntank with Hayato Kobayashi. After going out in a blaze of glory, saving Amuro's from certain death at the hands of Crowley Hamon, Ryu is rewarded with a posthumous three-rank promotion.
KAI SHIDEN The White Base's resident bad-attitude poster child, the cynical Kai has very mixed feelings about serving in the Federal Forces, though he does enjoy pestering Amuro with catcalls of "Newtype! Newtype!" Alternately clown and coward, Kai is nonetheless pressed into service as the Guncannon pilot.
It's not until the ship's arrival in Belfast, where he first deserts the ship and then smuggles a comely Zeon spy aboard, that Kai finally makes up his mind which side he's on. Still, after the war's end he has no compunction about returning to civilian life, whereafter he develops his interest in amateur photography into a career in journalism.
HAYATO KOBAYASHI One of Amuro's Side 7 neighbors, the diminutive and pumpkin-headed Hayato has a competitive streak a mile wide - maybe that's why he became a judo black belt. As fearless and determined as Kai is cowardly and ambivalent, Hayato never hesitates to charge into battle in the hapless Guntank (in the movies, at least, he's eventually upgraded to a Guncannon pilot).
His goal in life is to prove himself against Amuro, a hopeless cause given his lack of newtype ability and his general ineptitude in combat. But it's Hayato who gets the last laugh, winning the heart of Amuro's neglected sweetheart Frau Bow; after the war, he and Frau marry and adopt the White Base's trio of kiddie mascots.
FRAU BOW Amuro's neighbor at Side 7, Frau would probably describe herself as his girlfriend, though it often seems like he doesn't know she exists. Aboard the White Base, she becomes a medic and babysitter, shepherding around the ship's trio of war orphans. Though she frets over Amuro's fleeting crushes on pretty Federation officers, Frau's no sobbing sissy; at one point, when Amuro is cowering in his room after a traumatic battle, she shames him into action by threatening to pilot the Gundam herself.
KATSU, RETSU AND KIKKA Organization Earth Federation Age 8 (Katsu) 6 (Retsu) 4 (Kikka) Height 120 cm (Katsu) 110 cm (Retsu) 95 cm (Kikka)This trio of pint-sized pests - Katsu Hawin, Retsu Cofan and Kikka Kikamoto - are survivors of the Zeon attack on Side 7. With no living relatives, they are informally adopted by the White Base crew as ship's mascots. While their function is primarily decorative, they manage to save the day on more than one occasion, variously rousting spies, finding bombs, and using their fledgling newtype abilities to locate Amuro during the last desperate escape from A Bao A Qu. After the war, they are adopted by Hayato and Frau.
SLEGGAR ROWE A substitute pilot added to the White Base crew when they reach the Federal Forces headquarters at Jaburo, the swaggering Sleggar is initially brash, obnoxious, and more than a little condescending to his pint-sized fellow pilots. He soon eases up, and has proved himself a valuable asset to the crew by the time he's killed in the Battle of Solomon. Like Sayla, he pilots a G-Fighter in the TV series and a Core Booster in the movies.
HARO A robot toy created by Amuro, capable of rudimentary speech along the lines of "Hello Amuro! How are you?" A green sphere about sixteen inches in diameter, Haro is equipped with extendable arms and legs, and likes to flap the hatches that cover its arm sockets like wings. While Haro can walk, its favored mode of locomotion is bouncing like a basketball.
Aboard the White Base, Haro soon becomes the favored plaything of Katsu, Retsu and Kikka. After the end of the One Year War, a mass-market Haro toy is produced, while Amuro continues to make the odd custom-built version as a hobby.
GENERAL REVIL The grizzled Revil, though not the supreme leader of the Federal Forces, is certainly their most famous and respected general. Captured early in the war, Revil escaped Zeon captivity and returned to Earth just in time to bully the Federation government out of total surrender with his famous "There are no warriors in Zeon" speech. Later in the war he commands the Federation's major counteroffensives, Operation Odessa and Operation Star One, but is killed by Zeon's Solar Ray during peace negotiations with Archduke Degin Zabi.
When the White Base escapes Side 7 and makes its way to Earth, Revil becomes its unofficial patron. Familiar with Zeon Daikun's newtype theory, he tells the White Base crew that their success in battle indicates they may be the next step in evolution. But judging from his private comments, Revil simply uses the newtype label for propaganda purposes and sees the White Base as a useful decoy for the superstitious Zeons. Still, he takes good care of the ship and its crew.
MATILDA AJAN As commander of a Federal Forces supply corps, Matilda not only provides the White Base with supplies, equipment and emergency field repairs, but also serves as a puppy-love object for its underaged crew. The nature of some of her errands - for example, collecting the vital test data from the White Base as it struggles across Zeon-occupied North America - suggests that she functions as General Revil's personal messenger. In her capacity as the White Base's guardian angel, she ultimately sacrifices her life to protect the ship from the onslaught of the Black Trinary.
ADMIRAL TIANEM This swarthy Federation admiral commands the first phase of Operation Star One, the attack on the Zeon asteroid fortress Solomon. Watch out for that Big Zam, Admiral Tianem!
ELRAN This Federation general, who appears only in the TV series, is one of the commanders of Operation Odessa. He is in fact a traitor in the employ of Ma Kube, the commander of the Zeon mining base targeted by Operation Odessa. It's Amuro who unmasks the turncoat general, and when he realizes that it was Elran who tipped off the enemy as to White Base's whereabouts and thus caused the death of Matilda, he is righteously wrathful.
PAOLO CASSIUS The original captain of the White Base, Paolo is mortally wounded during the Zeon attack on Side 7. He spends his last episodes of life barking orders from a portable deathbed on the White Base's bridge, before giving up the ghost and leaving the ship in Bright's capable hands. His most memorable moment is his croaking identification of an onrushing enemy mobile suit: "It's Char! It's the r...Red Comet!"
WAKKEIN The stern commander of the Federation's Luna Two base, the eyebrow-less Wakkein locks up the White Base crew after their escape from Side 7. He intends to court-martial them for tampering with top-secret Federal Forces property - i.e., rescuing the vital prototype mobile suits from the Zeon attackers - but the imprisoned crew are able to plot a getaway by drawing escape plans in their mashed potatoes. They're later reunited with Wakkein during the attack on Solomon, and in the TV series he ultimately atones for his sins when his ship is destroyed in an attempt to come to the White Base's rescue.
TEM RAY Amuro's father is a Federal Forces engineer, part of the research team that has been secretly developing mobile suits at the Side 7 colony. Tem's busy schedule hasn't left him much time to look after his son, but at least he indirectly gives him a Gundam to play with.
Tem is accidentally sucked out into space during Amuro's first battle, and resurfaces later in the series with brain damage induced by oxygen deprivation. Now that he's insane, Tem is still a creep; when Amuro encounters him again, the brain-damaged engineer ignores his son to concentrate on building imaginary superweapons out of scrapyard junk.
WOODY MALDEN All the time the White Base crew are experiencing a collective crush on pretty Matilda Ajan, they are unaware that she's already spoken for. Her fiancé is manly Captain Woody, stationed at the Federal Forces' Jaburo headquarters. When the White Base arrives at Jaburo, Woody introduces himself, tells Amuro about his doomed wedding plans with the now-deceased Matilda, and then throws his life away by recklessly taking on Char's mobile suit with a dinky missile hovercraft.
CHAR AZNABLE Organization Duchy of Zeon Rank Major Final Rank Colonel Age 20 Height 175 cm Alias Casval Rem Daikun The Red CometThis dashing young officer is Zeon's most famous ace pilot, nicknamed the "Red Comet" after his mobile suit's color scheme. As a member of Dozul Zabi's Space Attack Force, Char sank five Federation battleships in the Battle of Ruum, spurring speculation that he might be a newtype of the kind predicted by Zeon Daikun. Once he encounters the Gundam he begins a fierce rivalry with Amuro, which escalates after Amuro inadvertently kills Char's newtype protege Lalah Sun.
In addition to his color preference, Char is a man of many eccentricities. He is seldom seen without his face-obscuring helmet, which serves to conceal his secret identity from his fellow Zeon soldiers. He refuses to wear a pilot suit in battle. And, as far as we can tell from the animation, he is unable to drive a car.
As if that weren't enough, Char is also a man with a mysterious past. He's really the son of Zeon Daikun, spirited out of Side 3 ten years ago and brought up to carry out a mission of vengeance against the Zabi family which supposedly assassinated his father. Having infiltrated the Duchy of Zeon's military in order to get close to his targets, Char doesn't let such trivia as his longstanding friendship with Garma Zabi get in the way of his quest, but his growing rivalry with Amuro proves to be a major distraction.
After engineering Garma's demise, Char is discharged from the Space Attack Force and promptly recruited by Kishiria Zabi's Mobile Assault Force. He serves as stint as commander of a submarine squadron, then transfers back to space to serve as a test pilot. Though Char begins to develop grander ambitions, like furthering his father's dream of guiding humanity into a new era of enlightenment, he's still not above taking out a Zabi here or there as the opportunity presents itself.
LALAH SUN This wafty, willowy lass is the crown jewel of Zeon's newtype research program. She was recruited by ace pilot Char Aznable, whom she credits with saving her life earlier in the war. Under Char's tutelage she becomes a fierce combatant, and her sorties in the mobile armor Elmeth inspire legends of the "Ghost of Solomon."
Meanwhile, Lalah's chance encounter with Federal Forces ace Amuro Ray in the neutral colonies of Side 6 creates an inadvertent spiritual bond between the two young newtypes. Her duty to Char prevents Lalah from following her heart, and she is forced to battle her destined soulmate in order to protect her masked mentor. There's only one way this can end...
DEGIN SODO ZABI Together with the ideologue Zeon Daikun, the squat and reptilian patriarch of the Zabi clan guided the space colonies of Side 3 to independence from the Earth Federation. When Daikun died in UC 0068, Degin claimed that the revered leader had used his dying breath to name Degin himself as his successor. The following year, Degin founded the Duchy of Zeon and declared himself Archduke. Daikun loyalists accused Degin of seizing power by assassination, but a ruthless purge served to stifle dissent. With his control over the Duchy secure, Degin began preparations for war against the Federation.
By the time the war began in UC 0079, the conniving Giren Zabi had usurped the reins of power, rendering father Degin little more than a figurehead. With the death of his favorite son Garma, Degin loses his will to continue the conflict. At the very end of the war, he arranges to meet with the Federation's General Revil to discuss a peace settlement, but Giren takes the opportunity to vaporize the negotiators with the Solar Ray. Live by assassination, die by assassination.
GIREN ZABI Giren is the eldest of the squabbling Zabi brood. With his charismatic presence, gift for oratory, and 240 IQ, he has little difficulty in displacing his father and seizing control of the Duchy of Zeon. He also has a decidely sinister intellectual bent. Rather than a war of independence or even conquest, Giren sees the current conflict as an exercise in eugenics and population control, trimming the population down to a manageable size and weeding out the deadwood from the genetic pool.
When a disconsolate Degin Zabi tries to make peace with the Federation, Giren decides to retire the old man permanently with the awesome Solar Ray. Unfortunately, sister Kishiria quickly figures out what Giren has done, and during the final battle at A Bao A Qu she punishes him for his patricide with a point-blank shot to the head.
DOZUL ZABI This scarred mountain of a man is the third son of Degin Zabi. As commander of Zeon's Space Attack Force, Dozul spends most of his time at the asteroid fortress Solomon launching attacks against the battered remnants of the Federation's space fleet. With a fierce lust for battle, Dozul often contrives to place himself on the front lines, and it's said that he has a habit of turning field inspections into impromptu sorties.
Though terrifying to behold and merciless to his foes, Dozul is a devoted family man, firing Char for his failure to protect adored younger brother Garma. Dozul also takes good care of his own family, sending his wife Zena and infant daughter Mineva to safety as the Federal Forces begin their assault on Solomon. The one family member he doesn't get along with is sister Kishiria, and it's this feud that proves his undoing when he refuses to accept her help in defending Solomon.
KISHIRIA ZABI Degin Zabi's only known daughter is a formidable character in her own right, holding her own against both Giren and Dozul in the ongoing family feud. Kishiria is the commander of the Mobile Assault Force, a collection of special forces and research divisions headquartered at the lunar city of Granada. She also supervises Garma Zabi's Earth Attack Force, and directly commands several terrestrial mining bases and submarine fleets.
Having overseen the development of Zeon's first mobile suits, Kishiria is now involved in newtype research. In conjunction with the civilian Flanagan Agency, her engineers develop the psycommu control system and a series of mobile armors for use by newtype pilots. She also recruits ace pilot and potential newtype Char Aznable, despite her suspicions about his true identity. Kishiria shares one of Char's distinctive affectations, donning a fabric face mask during battle.
GARMA ZABI The youngest son of the Zabi clan, Garma is as pretty and lovable as his siblings are ugly and evil-tempered. After attending the Duchy of Zeon's military academy with the equally dashing and handsome Char Aznable, Garma became the commander of the Earth Attack Force. Garma's youth and inexperience make him less than qualified to lead the army of occupation that controls half Earth's surface, but even though he's largely a figurehead, he is admired and adored by the people of Zeon. Father Degin dotes on handsome Garma, and is grooming him as his heir.
However, Garma's personal life is rather complicated. He's fallen for Icelina Eschonbach, the daughter of the Zeon-hating former mayor of occupied New York City, and he intends to renounce family and nation for the sake of his star-crossed love. Char, luring his school chum into a White Base ambush, incidentally ensures that Garma never has the chance to elope.
MINEVA LAO ZABI The infant daughter of Dozul Zabi, born just weeks before the beginning of the series. Mineva and her mother Zena are evacuated from the asteroid fortress Solomon as the Federation attack begins, and recovered by Kishiria Zabi's henchman Ma Kube. Mineva is spirited away to the asteroid base Axis at the end of the war, where she is raised as a figurehead leader for renegade Zeon soldiers.
MA KUBE Cultivated, aesthetically sensitive, devious and immoral, Ma Kube is one of Kishiria Zabi's most trusted subordinates. He first appears as the commander of Zeon's Odessa mining base, in which capacity he denies reinforcements to Ranba Ral's special forces unit. After attempting (in the TV series) to hold off the Federation attackers with the nuclear weapons prohibited by the Antarctic Treaty, Ma Kube abandons Odessa and returns to space.
In the last days of the war, Ma Kube is dispatched to aid the defense of Solomon. He arrives too late to save the asteroid fortress but in time to rescue Dozul Zabi's widow and infant child. In the TV series, Ma Kube then ambushes the White Base in the shoal zone surrounding Texas Colony, and is killed in a ferocious duel with the Gundam. Ever the art collector, his last thoughts are of an antique vase he had intended to present to Kishiria.
RANBA RAL This gruff, mustachioed veteran pilot, assigned to Dozul Zabi's Space Attack Force, is sent to avenge the death of Garma Zabi by destroying the White Base. Throughout October 0079 Ral and his loyal crew pursue the White Base, trailing it from Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe and giving Amuro some of the toughest battles of his career. But after Amuro gets the better of Ral and destroys his mobile suit, the electric blue Gouf, the stalwart soldier is denied reinforcements and is forced to stage a suicidal infantry attack on the White Base.
Ral and his men are among the most sympathetic Zeon characters of the original series, motivated only by duty, honor, and the professionalism of a career soldier. It's also revealed that Ral has a family secret - his father, Jinba Ral, was the one who spirited Zeon Daikun's children away from Side 3 and raised them under new identities on Earth. Though Ral is loyal to the Zabi family, he still has a soft spot for the children his father rescued.
CROWLEY HAMON Crowley Hamon is Ranba Ral's lover and common-law wife; for this reason, her name is sometimes erroneously listed as Hamon Ral. Elegant and beautiful, she makes a definite impression on Amuro during their one chance encounter. Though she appears to have no official military status, Hamon serves as Ranba Ral's aide and assumes command of the surviving members of his team after the disastrous infantry raid. In an attempt to avenge her lover, she leads Ral's 18 remaining soldiers in a last attack on the White Base.
COZUN GRAHAM One of Ranba Ral's two Zaku-piloting wingmen - the other is named Akos - Cozun is captured and interrogated by the White Base crew. He proves to be an ungracious guest, insisting on the first-class treatment promised captured officers by the Antarctic Treaty and then blowing his way out of the brig with an explosive tooth (!). After transmitting information about the White Base and its mobile suit complement back to Ral, Cozun is killed in an escape attempt.
GAIA, ORTEGA AND MASH Perhaps the most famous Zeon aces after Char Aznable, the dreaded "Black Trinary" are reknowned for capturing the Federation's General Revil during the Battle of Ruum. In their famous "Jetstream Attack" manuever, the three pilots line up and attack their target in sequence, often using three different weapons. Prior to Char's transfer, the Black Trinary are the star pilots of Kishiria Zabi's Mobile Attack Force.
In early November 0079, the Black Trinary are equipped with shiny new Dom mobile suits and transferred to Earth to help repulse the Federation's Operation Odessa. After attacking the White Base and causing the death of Matilda Ajan, all three are killed in battle with Amuro and his fellow White Base pilots.
CHALLIA BULL As the captain of a Zeon energy fleet ship, Challia Bull's regular occupation is ferrying helium fuel from Jupiter's atmosphere to support Zeon's war effort. However, he's identified as being a potential newtype, and Giren Zabi has him transferred to Kishiria's newtype corps in order to find out what Kishiria is up to. As the pilot of the mobile armor Braubro, Challia clashes with Amuro and is promptly killed. All this takes place in the TV series - Challia doesn't appear in the movies.
DOREN Initially Char's aide, Doren remains in the Space Attack Force after his commanding officer is discharged. He resurfaces later as commander of an orbital patrol squadron, and for old times' sake he agrees to intercept the White Base as it launches from Jaburo so that Char will be able to catch up and trap the ship in a pincer manuever. As it turns out, the White Base and its mobile suits wipe out Doren's squadron within a couple of minutes, scuttling Char's plan along with Doren and his ship.
DENIM, GENE AND SLENDER Organization Duchy of Zeon Rank Sergeant Major (Denim) Sergeant (Gene and Slender)A trio of Zaku pilots under Char's command. Having tracked the White Base to the Side 7 colony where the Federation's mobile suit prototypes are being tested, Char dispatches Denim, Jean and Slender into the colony to investigate. Seeking to impress his commander, Jean impetuously decides to attack the colony, and he and Denim are killed in Amuro's first sortie in the Gundam. Slender survives until the next battle, in which he serves as an object lesson in the destructive power of the Gundam's beam rifle.
FLANAGAN BOONE A submarine captain assigned to Char's Mad Angler squadron. After the White Base leaves Belfast, Boone sneaks aboard and holes up in one of the ship's toilets to confer with spy Miharu Ratokie via two-way wrist radio. He later pilots the marine mobile armor Grabro, meeting his end at the hands of the Gundam and via a well-placed missile in the TV and movie versions respectively.
ICELINA ESCHONBACH As the daughter of the former mayor of Zeon-occupied New York, Icelina's Romeo-and-Juliet affair with Garma Zabi is ill-starred enough to begin with. To make matters worse, in the TV series she is so wracked by grief that she gathers a bunch of Garma's loyal underlings and launches her own revenge attack on the White Base. She dies as she lived, tragically.
KAMARIA RAY Amuro's estranged mother, who still lives in Amuro's home town - located in Japan according to the TV series, and in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, according to the movies. When Amuro eventually revisits his home, he is reunited with Kamaria for the first time since his father took him away to space. The reunion is a bitter one, as his mother is a staunch pacifist; after seeing Amuro blow away a Zeon soldier, she is revolted by the hardened killer her son has become.
MIHARU RATOKIE In order to support her younger siblings, Milly and Gil, this Belfast lass has become a Zeon spy (code number 107). Miharu spots the White Base when it arrives in Northern Ireland, sends her contacts a really bad photo, and sets out to find out all she can from its crew as they disembark. When she invites Kai Shiden (a much better photographer) home for dinner, he quickly realizes that she's a spy but decides to play along with her - after all, at this point he plans to jump ship anyway.
After Kai smuggles Miharu aboard the White Base, they both begin to experience a change of heart. Ultimately, they set out in a transport plane to defend the ship, and Miharu is killed in a heroic effort to unjam a broken missile launcher. Her death gives Kai the motivation he'd been lacking.
CAMERON BLOOM Mirai's spineless fiance is a district attorney in Side 6's neutral Rank Administration. Ostensibly a pacifist, he's really just a common or garden-variety coward. After Sleggar Rowe humiliates him, Cameron slinks off with his tail between his legs; he's clearly not man enough for Mirai.
DOCTOR FLANAGAN The head of the civilian Flanagan Agency, the eponymous doctor is the foremost researcher into newtypes and the creator of the psycommu (psychic communicator) system. He accompanies Char and Lalah to the derelict Texas Colony for performance tests on the mobile armor Elmeth. Curiously, he received a complete character design makeover for the movies, losing his disco pants-and-muttonchops look and morphing into a squat-and-swarthy bearded form.
Mobile Suit Gundam, Z Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Char's Counterattack, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Gundam F91, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Gundam 0083: Last Blitz of Zeon, Gundam: The 08th MS Team, and Gundam W: Endless Waltz are copyright Sotsu Agency and Sunrise. V Gundam, G Gundam, Gundam W, and Gundam X are copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and TV Asahi. Turn A Gundam is copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and Fuji TV.
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