Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Characters			Previous: Gundam 0080 Gundam 0083 Story Synopsis Characters Mechanics Next: Z Gundam

KOU URAKI Organization Earth Federation Rank 2nd Lieutenant Final Rank 1st Lieutenant Age 19 Amazing as it may seem, this gawky young pilot is actually an officer, a graduate of the Federation's Nijmegen militray academy in the Netherlands. As the story begins, he's serving as a test pilot at the Torrington base, in which capacity he provides target practice for the base's more senior pilots. Kou possesses a keen interest in mobile suit technology and a great latent talent as a pilot, which enable him to put up a fight against his vastly more experienced nemesis Anavel Gato. On a personal level, Kou is shy and profoundly lacking in social graces. Even when systems engineer Nina Purpleton makes her interest clear, the timid Kou for a long time lacks the nerve to make romantic overtures to her. He also has a terrible aversion to carrots.

EIPHAR SYNAPSE Organization Earth Federation Rank Colonel Age 45 The crusty captain of the Albion is a charismatic and essentially honorable man, who struggles to carry out his mission and recover the stolen Gundam Unit 2 despite the lack of support provided by the Federal Forces. For a grizzled veteran, he seems unusually indulgent of his freewheeling pilots, allowing squadron leader South Burning to assign the hot-tempered and inexperienced Kou to the Gundam Unit 1 and ultimately joining the mutiny at La Vie En Rose.

SOUTH BURNING Organization Earth Federation Rank Captain Burning is the commander of the Torrington base's test pilots, and subsequently mobile suit squadron leader aboard the Albion. This veteran ace pilot, who fought in the One Year War alongside Bate, Monsha and Adel, becomes Kou's mentor and Captain Synapse's confidant. Incidentally, Burning is separated from his wife Sylvia, whom he leaves behind on Earth. Injured during the initial pursuit of the stolen Gundam Unit 2, Burning remains on the sidelines for most of the first half of the series. When he finally returns to piloting, we see that age has begun to slow his reflexes and reduce his tolerance for high-acceleration manuevers. Still, Burning remains a top-notch pilot and a great tactician.

ALPHA A. BATE Organization Earth Federation Rank 1st Lieutenant Final Rank Captain Evidently the most senior of the three supplemental mobile suit pilots transferred to the Albion, Bate does little to rein in the troublesome Monsha, and in fact seems to encourage his outrageous teammate's mischievous hijinks. Nonetheless, Bate seems to be effective enough that he's promoted to take Burning's place as the Albion's squadron leader - or maybe it's just his manly good looks.

BERNARD MONSHA Organization Earth Federation Rank 1st Lieutenant The series' most outrageous and colorful character, Monsha is a lecherous, booze-addled braggart, who spends his spare time either bullying poor Kou or chasing the Albion's female crew members (particularly Nina). Though Monsha talks big, and though he proves more or less a match for Kou during their first practice fight, his susbsequent combat performance is pretty poor - perhaps thanks to his patented "no-tactics tactics." Even his one generous moment, when he offers his injured ex-comrade Burning a therapeutic bottle of brandy, is undercut by the fact that he's already drunk half its contents. Ah, that wacky Monsha!

CHAP ADEL Organization Earth Federation Rank 2nd Lieutenant The quietest of the three supplemental pilots who join the Albion's crew prior to its departure from Australia, Adel plays the silent sidekick to his troublemaking comrades.

CHUCK KEITH Organization Earth Federation Rank 2nd Lieutenant Age 20 Kou's equally hapless best friend is a fellow graduate of the Nijmegen military academy, likewise stationed at Torrington to give the senior test pilots someone to shoot at. While Chuck possesses fractionally better social skills than Kou, he lacks the saving grace of having any talent as a mobile suit pilot. He also serves Kou poorly as a romantic advisor, leading to some embarrassing hijinks. Still, Chuck does okay for himself, ending up in an improbable but admirably healthy relationship with tough engineer Mora Bascht.

MORA BASCHT Organization Earth Federation Rank 1st Lieutenant Age 26 The towering Mora is the Albion's chief mechanic, riding herd on the ship's hard-working engineering team and protecting her female underlings from the marauding Monsha. She also becomes the best friend of the somewhat erratic Nina, providing a valuable down-to-earth perspective to counter the temperamental systems engineer's constant mood swings.

JOHN KOWEN Organization Earth Federation Rank Lieutenant General The ill-omened General Kowen, supervisor of the Gundam Development Project, becomes a scapegoat for the theft of the nuclear-capable Gundam Unit 2. With little support from the rest of the Federal Forces, Kowen becomes increasingly dependent on the Albion to redeem him by recovering the stoleen Gundam.

GENE CORINI Organization Earth Federation Rank General The prime mover of the conspiracy among the leadership of the Federal Forces, General Corini is frequently seen petting a cat a la Bond's nemesis Ernst Blofeld. Though his conspiracy is instrumental in the creation of the Titans, this elite force is subsequently depicted as Jamitov Heimann's private army, leading one to wonder whether the architect of this quiet coup was himself deposed in the interim.

GREEN WYATT Organization Earth Federation Rank General This overcultured general, a member of General Corini's conspiracy, attempts to meet with Cima prior to the naval review but is foiled by the intervention of the Albion and its mobile suits. Having failed to collect the Operation Stardust plans from Cima, he proceeds to emcee the Federation's naval review in blissful ignorance of the fact that he's at ground zero of a planned nuclear attack. In the meantime, he gets to sip Darjeeling tea and bore the massed Federation fleet with historical trivia.

JAMITOV HEIMANN Organization Earth Federation Rank Brigadier General Though Jamitov ultimately becomes the leader of the Titans and the master villain of the Z Gundam series, at present he is little more than a flunky to conspiracy mastermind General Corini.

BOSQUE OHM Organization Earth Federation Rank Colonel The bald, begoggled Bosque is already well on his way to a rewarding career as a lapdog of evil. In service of General Corini's conspiracy, he commands the Earth Orbital Fleet that sets a Solar System trap for the runaway colony, and demonstrates his low character by activating the mirror array even while friendly forces are in its path. With a pedigree like that, you know he's destined for great things, and sure enough Bosque ends up as the field commander of the elite Titans force.

NAKOHHA NAKATO Organization Earth Federation Rank Major The commander of the 401st Security Squadron, the ill-tempered and despotic Nakato is a tiny cog in the great mechanism of the conspiracy within the Federal Forces. Ordered to take over the Anaheim dock ship La Vie En Rose, secure the Gundam Unit 3, and prevent the Albion from leaving the premises, he executes his orders with minimal tact and an extra helping of menace. This security-obsessed fascist both echoes the original series' overzealous Wakkein, and foreshadows the heavy-handed tactics of the Titans.

AIGUILLE DELAZ Organization Delaz Fleet Rank Lieutenant General During the One Year War, the shaven-headed Delaz served directly under Giren Zabi as an officer of Zeon's Imperial Guard. Having abandoned his post during the Battle of A Bao A Qu upon learning of Giren's death, Delaz has spent the last three years plotting his revenge on the Earth Federation. Somewhere along the way he's also given himself a three-rank promotion, but maybe that's one of the perks of forming your own private army. Though Delaz has a cultish reverence for Giren Zabi, his devotion to the cause of spacenoid independence seems more sincere than that of Zeon's infamous evil genius. At any rate, Delaz is a tactician of the highest caliber, launching a devastating attack on the Federation fleet and a cataclysmic colony drop despite the small size and poor condition of his ragtag fleet.

ANAVEL GATO Organization Delaz Fleet Rank Major Age 25 Alias The Nightmare of Solomon One of the greatest ace pilots of the One Year War, Gato was a member of Dozul Zabi's Space Attack Force, stationed at the asteroid fortress Solomon. Though it's not clear whether the famed "Nightmare of Solomon" participated in the ferocious battle during which the fortress fell to the Earth Federation, Gato is shown to have fought in the Battle of A Bao A Qu at the war's end. When Aiguille Delaz withdraws from the battle, he persuades Gato to accompany him rather than throwing his life away in a hopeless fight. It appears that Gato spent some time on the moon after the end of the war, only rejoining Delaz's renegade forces in September, UC 0081. Since then, he has become Delaz's right-hand man and most loyal follower. In addition to his superb combat skills and superhuman stamina, Gato is a charismatic leader, a gallant warrior, and a general paragon of moral virtue.

KARIUS Organization Delaz Fleet Rank Sergeant The sole survivor of Gato's 302st Patrol Squadron, Karius has been a loyal underling of the famous ace since the One Year War. He is introduced during the attack on the naval review, and sticks by his master's side thereafter.

CIMA GARAHAU Organization Delaz Fleet Rank Lieutenant Colonel A fickle ally of the Delaz Fleet, Cima commands her own small fleet of former Zeon marines. One hesitates to contemplate how she and her troops spent their time between the end of the One Year War and their recent recruitment into the Delaz Fleet, but we can be sure they were up to no good. The piratical Cima is noteworthy for her smug malice, fierce temper and habit of entering combat in her personally customized Gelgoog mobile suit. According to an apocryphal account of Cima's background, she and her marines were specialists in dirty tricks and unsavory operations during the One Year War, and were thus denied permission to flee to Axis along with the rest of the Zeon fleet. Whatever her motives, Cima is clearly cynical and bitter, and it soon becomes clear that Gato's distrust of her is wholly warranted.

KULT Organization Delaz Fleet One of Cima's more unsavory underlings, the leering Kult accompanies his mistress during her negotiations with Kelly Layzner and is ultimately dispatched to pick up the refurbished mobile armor Val Varo. Unfortunately, he then blurts out that Cima wants to buy the mobile armor rather than merely fund its repair, and that they have no intention of entrusting it to a maimed cripple like Kelly. When Kelly subsequently takes off in his mobile armor to seek death or glory, Cima dispatches Kult on a suicide mission to intercept him. Serves him right for not keeping his mouth shut.

HAMAN KHAN Organization Axis Age 16 The newly-appointed leader of the renegade Zeons at Axis, Haman appears in a brief cameo towards the end of the series. Her father Maharaja Khan died two months before the start of Operation Stardust, whereupon Haman succeeded him as regent to Mineva Zabi, heir to the Duchy of Zeon. The Axis Advance Fleet that arrives to aid the Delaz Fleet was dispatched while her father was running the show, so Haman's primary function in the story is to complain about the as-yet-poor living conditions at her asteroid belt hideout.

UREY HUSRER Organization Axis Rank Major General Husrer is the commander of the Axis Advance Fleet that appears in the Earth sphere. Though the Axis remains neutral during the clash between the Delaz Fleet and the Earth Federation, Husrer is able to aid his former comrades by supplying Gato with the mighty mobile armor Neue Ziel and by recovering the Delaz Fleet's surviving soldiers at the conclusion of Operation Stardust.

NEUEN BITTER Organization Duchy of Zeon Rank Major General One of the many renegade Zeon soldiers who aids Gato during his mission on Earth at the start of Operation Stardust, Bitter is the commander of a secret Zeon base in Eastern Africa's Kimberlite diamond mine. Though his forces have dwindled in the course of three years of guerilla warfare, his handful of mobile suits and vintage launch vehicle prove instrumental in effecting Gato's escape with the stolen Gundam Unit 2. Bitter also gives Gato a sizeable diamond as a keepsake, the ultimate disposition of which remains unclear.

KELLY LAYZNER Organization Duchy of Zeon Rank Captain Another of Gato's former comrades during the One Year War, Kelly is now the proprietor of a Von Braun City junkyard. Though he lost an arm in the war, the burly, macho veteran is still perfectly capable of operating heavy machinery and beating up on snot-nosed young punks. After rescuing Kou from a bunch of Von Braun street toughs, Kelly allows the young pilot to hang around and help him with his pet project - the restoration of the mobile armor Val Varo. Having been contacted by the Delaz Fleet, Kelly is eager to recapture the glory of his piloting days by fighting once more alongside his old friend Gato. When he is rudely informed that only his restored mobile armor is needed, not his maimed self, Kelly snaps and launches a one-man assault on the Albion. Naturally, it all ends very tragically.

NINA PURPLETON Organization Civilian Age 21 Pretty, witty, and temperamental, Nina is a civilian systems engineer in the employ of the lunar cartel Anaheim Electronics. As a specialist in the integration of hardware and software systems, she is a key member of the development team that created the Gundam Units 1 and 2. Nina is almost neurotically protective of her creations, and when she strikes up a romantic relationship with Gundam pilot Kou Uraki, the tension between her feelings for Kou and her concern for her Gundams creates some rather peculiar emotional dynamics. Complicating matters further is a secret relationship in her past. All in all, it's hard to tell when Nina is being complex and when she's just being weird. Still, she's good at her work, and despite her manifold emotional conflicts she volunteers to stay aboard the Albion to the bitter end - at no small risk to herself.

LUCETTE AUDEVIE Organization Civilian One of Nina's fellow Anaheim systems engineers, Lucette is in charge of the development of the mighty Gundam Unit 3. When the Albion docks at La Vie En Rose, she latches onto Kou in an effort to recruit him as the Unit 3's test pilot. As word reaches them of the runaway colony's course change towards Earth, Lucette persuades Kou to defy Major Nakato's orders and hijack the Unit 3, ultimately sacrificing her life to help him do so. Then, with her dying breath, she reveals Nina's deep dark secret.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR O'SULLIVAN Organization Civilian The jovial, balding O'Sullivan is the high-ranking Anaheim Electronics executive in charge of the Gundam Development Project, and thus Nina's supervisor. He's also a crony of the scheming Cima, who not only pesters him into giving her a fancy prototype mobile suit, but also prompts him to use Anaheim's laser launching system to boost the falling colony out of lunar orbit and onto an Earth-bound course. As seen in the closing scenes of the series, O'Sullivan eventually pays the price for his duplicity.

LATEURA CHAPRA Organization Civilian Kelly's long-suffering lover, Lateura bitterly resents Kou for helping her man rebuild his mobile armor and return to the battlefield. Thanks to our meddling hero, Kelly ultimately gets the Val Varo back in working order and flies off to meet his grim destiny, leaving poor Lateura sobbing on the sidelines. Tough deal.

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.