History Characters / SuperRobotWarsZ

* CursedWithAwesome: [[spoiler:The Wounded Lion is easily the Sphere with the least drawbacks, since it only tortures Rand to give it power when needed for the "[[MakeMeWannaShout Pain Shout]]" and "The Heat Crusher" attacks. The Sphere is willingly holding back the usual BlessedWithSuck, otherwise Rand would be living in constant agony]].

* EvilRedHead: And EvilIsSexy: She drops it eventually, but she starts out EVIL, so...

* AscendedFanboy: Many of his pre-battle comments are deliberate {{Shout Out}}s to his opponents' nicknames and {{catchphrase}}s.

* GratuitousEnglish: "GO TO DARK HEAVEN!" "SPECIAL PRESENT FOR YOU!" "WELCOME TO MY WONDERFUL WORLD!"

* KarmaHoudini: Causes suffering and misery on a global scale due to the wars his machinations result in. What does he get in return? The opportunity to die while having the time of his life with no regrets, whatsoever. What a bastard...

* {{Bishonen}}: Just look at his character portait
* DepravedHomosexual: Especially if the player kills Löwen first

* MsFanservice: Xine has one of the biggest chests of any ''Super Robot Wars'' original female character,[[note]]Her SuperMoveAttackPortrait makes hers look even bigger than those belonging to [[Characters/SuperRobotWarsAdvance Lamia Loveless]] and [[Characters/EndlessFrontier Kaguya Nanbu]][[/note]] and her default outfit leaves almost nothing to the imagination.

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* MsFanservice: Xine's SuperMovePortraitAttack may serve as evidence she's beaten both Lamia AND [[Characters/EndlessFrontier Kaguya Nanbu]] in that size department.

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An ex-leader of a [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Windam squad]] that supposedly gets itself wiped out due to a freak explosion thanks to the "Break The World" event (InNameOnly from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny''; ''Z'' uses it from ''Anime/SuperDimensionCenturyOrguss''), Xine is the SoleSurvivor and is found by the Chimera; without much to do, she aligns with them, is given a mecha and for the first part of ''Z'' acts as [[DarkChick a bitch]] towards ZEUTH. However, it's revealed she's simply [[BrokenBird lonely]] (as the members of her old unit are indeed dead, but are entombed within the [[Anime/EurekaSeven Scab Coral]] that's spreading across the planet) and has nowhere to go. If the player is lucky, they can convince her to desert the Chimera. She falls in love with Asakim and madly blushes ({{Squick}}y or not: you decide) whenever he's around. Asakim later abandons her, but tells her to live free.

* {{BFS}}: Big Fragging [[BladeOnAStick SPEAR]]

One of two halves of "Beater Services", a mechanic service, Rand Travis is the male protagonist of ''Super Robot Wars Z''. A huge guy at 27 years-old ([[AllThereInTheManual according to his official profile]]) with a good sense of humor, he is looking for his missing master Cielo Beater, and assisted by his master's daughter Mel Beater. He's known as "[[RedBaron The Crusher]]" after his tendency to destroy more things than he fixes, an InSeriesNickname he doesn't take so well. Being in the late-twenties, Rand has a lot of experience in dealing with all sorts of people, which is why he sort of tolerates Asakim Dowin, despite the atrocities he commits against Setsuko Ohara, and offers genuine, heartfelt support to her following those encounters with Asakim. He pilots the Gunleon, a ''Anime/GaoGaiGar''-like mecha carrying a huge wrench and an assortment of spanners, nailguns and chainsaws with which he can trash his enemies just as efficiently as he can repair damaged allies. During ''Rengoku-hen'', he pilots the Ranbolt Leon, a customized construction machine,[[note]]It's also stated that he piloted Ranbolt back during his apprentice days, proving that the original machine was from Rand's original world[[/note]] before reobtaining the Gunleon.

One of two halves of "Beater Services", a mechanic service, Rand Travis is the male protagonist of ''Super Robot Wars Z''. A huge guy at 27 years-old ([[AllThereInTheManual according to his official profile]]) with a good sense of humor, he is looking for his missing master Cielo Beater, and assisted by his master's daughter Mel Beater. He's known as "[[RedBaron The Crusher]]" after his tendency to destroy more things than he fixes, an InSeriesNickname he doesn't take so well. Being in the late-twenties, Rand has a lot of experience in dealing with all sorts of people, which is why he sort of tolerates Asakim Dowin, despite the atrocities he commits against Setsuko Ohara, and offers genuine, heartfelt support to her following those encounters with Asakim. He pilots the Gunleon, a ''Anime/GaoGaiGar''-like mecha carrying a huge wrench and an assortment of spanners, nailguns and chainsaws with which he can trash his enemies just as efficiently as he can repair damaged allies. He and the Gunleon exemplify these tropes:
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* CombatMedic: The Gunleon can repair allied units; in ''Z'', it automatically heals units paired up in the same squad with it by a small amount per turn. This marks the first time a protagonist mecha in [=SRW=] is equipped with a innate-healing ability. [[spoiler:Later, it gets the ability to resupply ammo and energy]].
* CoolOldGuy: Not really old, but mature enough that he hangs out with [[Anime/OvermanKingGainer Gain Bijou]], [[Anime/TheBigO Roger Smith]], [[Anime/EurekaSeven Holland Novak]], and [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Jamil Neate]].

* DirtyOldMan: Again, not really old, but he likes to use the UN (Universal Network) like [[TheInternetIsForPorn most of us do]]...

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Setsuko pilots the Virgora, formerly one of three test units, each with specific weaponry and combat roles, but gathers up/unlocks all weapon outloads for one. Later, it's upgraded a second time to the Virgora Glory. She embodies these tropes:
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* {{BFG}}: Virgora's primary weapon

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:All three of them in ''Z''. She dies in the bad ending and won't last long in the normal and good ending either, with the only difference being she finally joins those alternate universe versions of Denzel and Toby in the latter]].

* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the end of ''Z'', she's united with another universe's Toby and Denzel, and the three recreate the Glory Star.
** [[spoiler:Implied in the ''Third Z'' in regards to her Sphere: because Gadlight Meonsam managed to use his Sphere to the extent where he isn't harmed by its negative effects, there's the potential for Setsuko to do the same]].

* {{Leitmotif}}: "The Right Stuff" for the Glory Star team; once the Virgora Glory is acquired, "The Wings Which Wipe Away Tears."

* MidSeasonUpgrade: The Virgora Custom, which gets several attacks over the course of the game [[spoiler:via a perverse version of MegaManning, wherein what it acquires are the signature moves of the mecha of her dead teammates (the Custom itself being Denzel's unit with the left arm from Setsuko's unit)]]. The Virgora Glory plays with this by initially being a simple MechaExpansionPack (that broke the Virgora's primary weapon to boot!) [[spoiler:before it's augmented by her Sphere. Finally, Sidereal in ''Tengoku-hen'' gives the machine its last upgrade into the Virgora Glory S]].

* OddFriendship: With [[Anime/TheBigO Roger Smith]]. Rand's a casual, goofy repairman in a tank top, while Roger's a formal, professional negotiator in a fancy black suit. Nonetheless, the two get along quite are quite close, with Roger being the only one of Rand's "old man buddies" to be present in all of his appearances.

* LikeBrotherAndSister: She maintains a close platonic relationship with both [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Kamille Bidan]] and [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Shinn Asuka]]. Her bond with the latter is especially pronounced, with the two frequently supporting one another throughout the ''Z'' saga. Notably, Setsuko is only ZEUTH member barring Kamille that Shinn is visibly hesitant to fight against should he side with Chairman Gilbert Durandal in the first game. This also leads to Shinn being incredibly protective of her, which to his strong grudge against Asakim, due to how the latter hurts Setsuko.

** During the midgame, Lunamaria Hawke, Shinn's actual girlfriend, outright questions if he is in love with Setsuko, forcing him to clarify that his feelings towards the latter girl aren't romantic in nature; he's mostly just grateful towards her, as he thinks that he'd be a much worse person if it wasn't for her influence on him.

* ShipTease: ''Saisei-hen' lays it on heavy with her and Crow, to the point she’s the only girl he seemingly reciprocates. It was subsequently dropped in ''Tengoku-hen'', though.

** BerserkerTears: [[spoiler: Of course, because it doesn't actually LIKE fighting, this is the result. The attack ends with Rand and Mel consoling it, assuring it that it's not alone.]]
* BerserkButton: Don't call him "The Crusher". Gilter learn this in a hard way.

* {{BFS}}: Big Fragging WRENCH
* BoisterousBruiser: An uncommon male protagonist example.

** [[spoiler:By the sequels, after using Pain Shouter, Rand will sometimes say along the lines of "Phew! Glad that's over". By Rengoku-Hen, he's mastered the ability enough to be able to permanently activate Magna Mode]].

%%* MightyGlacier: Gunleon, with the added bonus of being able to repair itself.
* MistakenForPedophile: In ''Tengoku-hen'', Rand and Mel introduce themselves and, predictably, Mer's declaration of her betrothal to Land causes a bad reaction. Clouseau and Kurz look at Rand in disgust, with the latter having the gall to accuse Rand of having no moral fibre. Land sighs, saying that he'll clarify things later.

* RedBaron: "The Crusher", but Rand doesn't like the nickname.

** RunningGag: He prefers "The Heat" monniker, instead. He ends up subverting his usual reaction to "The Crusher", on the basis that that gag had already run its course. There's also his "Heat Smile", which ''absolutely'' everyone comments on as being "stuffy".

* LikeBrotherAndSister: A mild version with her relationship with [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Shinn Asuka]]. They both support and look out for each other throughout the Z saga. This is outright mentioned by Lunamaria in Tengoku-hen when she (of all people) teases Shinn if he is in love with her since they seem so close. He flat out denies it and claims that Setsuko is the one who keeps supporting him no matter what the situation. Noticeably Setsuko is one of a very few ZEUTH's member Shinn hesitates to fight with when he was siding with Gilbert Durandal in the first game. Shinn is also one of a few non-OG characters to have a strong grudge against Asakim mainly because he hurts Setsuko.
* {{Leitmotif}}: "The Right Stuff" for the Glory Star team; once the Virgora Glory is acquired, "The Wings Which Wipe Away Tears"

* [[spoiler:RedBaron: Sacrifai refers to her as "Hamaliel the Star". [[GeniusBonus Hamaliel is the angel that represents Virgo]].]]

* ShipTease: Saisei-hen lays it on heavy with her and Crow. To the point she’s the only girl he can reciprocate.
* ShrinkingViolet: In the early portion of her story

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: "Balgora", but according to the artbook "OG Secret Hangar", it's spelled as "Virgora", lifting this up to MeaningfulName.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: [[spoiler:During the "Riot Wrench" attack in ''Tengoku-hen'']], players see the cockpit of the Gunleon as if they were Rand. A bell chime, notes and a picture of Rand and Mel decorate the interior, while things like a water bottle, pillow, shrine charm and a ''[[EverythingsBetterWithPlushies Gunleon doll]]'' are seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rINXiIs1C0c#t=2m11s bouncing around as the Gunleon hammers on the enemy]].

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* [[TitleDrop Subtitle Drop]]: [[spoiler:In Genosic Nova]] attack, he has a line including the word Hakai, Saisei, Jigoku, Rengoku and Tengoku.

* [[WhenSheSmiles When He Smiles]]: [[spoiler:During the ending of ''Tengoku-hen'', right before he is about to pass into the next universal cycle, he gives his only genuine smile in the entire saga]].

* {{Gainaxing}}: Despite her legs supposedly being the focus of her character design, that doesn't stop her from having a large, bouncing chest whenever she uses her "The Glory Star."