The characters from Broken Blade.
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Krisna
Rygart Arrow
Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (JP), Greg Ayres (EN)
- And This Is for...: A special case. When he finally kills Borcuse, against orders and after Borcuse tells him with the fact that he knew Girge wasn't the Delphine's pilot no less, he yells so loud that everyone can hear him: "I have done it! I've DONE it!! GIRGE!!!!"
- Anti-Hero: Seems to be heading in this direction (of the vicious type, specifically—he's already a Classical Anti-Hero).
- Apologetic Attacker: Rygard apologized to some of his foes for having to take down that foe's Golem, (sometimes non-fatally to them) or for outright having to kill them.
- Blessed with Suck: He was born without magic, but that makes him the only person to pilot a unique and potentially powerful Golem.
- Broken Ace: After he defeats General Borcuse, he becomes rather popular and is considered a hero. He... definitely doesn't think of himself that way, especially thanks to Girge's death.
- The Call Put Me on Hold: Though, truth be told, he's fine with that.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Has doubts in himself when it comes to being a hero and his relationship with the girl he loves, but still does what he can for Krishna.
- Distressed Dude: While in Assam, he gets hit with this twice: held hostage, and then immediately throw in prison afterwards for unrelated reasons.
- Expy: of Fei Fong Wong, albeit with a military background rather than plain nobody. The Delphine also happens to be a reference to the latter's Gear Weltall, complete with its own version of the Id Mode with similar activation requirements (called self-defense mode by the characters. Unlike Weltall, Delphine's system works in full autonomous mode because it relies on its pilot being unconscious as a form of battle damage rather than personality switch).
- Guilt Complex: May be on his way to developing one, starting with Girge dying for him. He then blames himself for not being there when Sigyn was captured, to which Hodr points out that Rygart would've just been another casualty if he'd stayed.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Between his status as an Un-Sorcerer and the guilt that's piled up on him over the war, Rygart's self-esteem isn't too great.
- Hit Me, Dammit!: Tells Hodr to after Sigyn's been captured.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He chose not to pursue Sigyn during their academy days and let her end up with Hodr, realizing that he had nothing to offer her as a poor farmer and an Un-Sorcerer.
- It's All My Fault: Blames himself heavily for Girge's death.
- It's Personal: Gets really into the thought of killing Borcuse after Girge sacrifices himself and is executed for him.
- Military Maverick: He has difficulty following orders whenever It's Personal, such as flying off to try and save his brother or killing Borcuse when told to capture him.
- Morality Pet: Girge develops a bit of a soft spot for him.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: So, Rygart, you just saved a seemingly-innocent girl from getting shot by a random person? Great, now get thrown in prison because her guard thinks you're suspicious!
- Oblivious to Love: Hodr isn't sure which one it is, but it pisses him off all the same that Rygart isn't reacting to Sigyn's hints after she and Hodr break off their marriage.
- Refusal of the Call: Initially refuses to join the military, before relenting.
- Revenge Before Reason: During his fight against Borcuse, he's more interested in avenging Girge's death than doing what's best for his country.
- Sanity Slippage: The war wears down on him heavily, with Girge's death briefly sending him over the edge. The worst of it shows in his fight against Borcuse, after which he calms down.
- Secret-Keeper: The only one who knew that Zess was originally an assassin after Hodr back in the academy.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Not normally, but when training with General Sakura, he claims that he should be good at swordsmanship due to his physical strength, leading to this gem after she knocks him out:General Sakura: "I didn't think his power would be inversely proportional to his words."
- Stepford Smiler: He's starting to show shades of this after, again, Girge's death, with his friends trying to figure out how okay he really is.
- Survivor Guilt: He doesn't take Girge's sacrifice for him well.
- 10-Minute Retirement: The army, for all intents and purposes, fired him out of concern for his emotional stability. Being the protagonist, this obviously didn't last long.
Sigyn Erster
Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (JP), Emily Neves (EN)
- Bookworm: Said to have spent hours doing research without even eating.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Her feelings towards Rygart, although by the present, she is technically married already. At least until chapter 57.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Hence why hers is just for show and doesn't contain any bullets.
- Dude Magnet: Very few men resist her, but Girge, ironically being one of them, points out how many fall for Sigyn. Those include Rygart, who she actually loves, Hodr, the husband she only cares for in a platonic sense, Nile, who openly has a crush, and Steiner, the sadistic pervert who serves as her prison warden who puts her in the Go-Go Enslavement get up and apparently has to restrain himself from raping her.
- The Engineer: No physical capability whatsoever, but you can thank her for plenty of the work on the Golems.
- Expy: A non-military version of Ellehaym Van Houten.
- Friendly Enemy: She gets along very well with Cleo while the latter is held prisoner.
- Glasses Are Sexy: Nile is quite excited to see her in glasses.
- Ms. Fanservice: Men find her attractive and no outfit she wears takes any of this away. She once fell asleep without a shirt. Her hair covers her nipples.
- Not So Stoic: Mostly around/regarding Rygart.
- Perpetual Frowner: Spends most of her time frowning. Very few things, namely Rygart, make her happy.
- Rags to Royalty: She was a commoner before marrying Hodr.
- Sleeping Single: She and Hodr have separate bedrooms, she doesn't even use hers as much as she spends most of her time in her lab. It's implied because of this, the absence of children and her feelings for Rygart, that Sigyn and Hodr have never slept together during their marriage.
- The Stoic: Shows very little emotion.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: She never actually cheated on Hodr, but she clearly preferred spending time with Rygart. The reasoning being that she never truly loved Hodr, only agreeing to marry him because she wanted Rygart to be more active in pursuing her.
- Uptown Girl: She's a commoner who married into royalty. And then again the other way around, as she breaks off her marriage with Hodr to pursue Rygart, a farmer.
- When She Smiles: By no means is Sigyn unattractive, but when she smiles in Ch. 57, the soldiers definitely take notice.
- Workaholic: Not as bad as Hodr, but her focus is her work. She even once locked herself up in the school lab for three days without eating or drinking, according to Rygart.
- Wrench Wench: Would rather do mechanic work than anything that could be considered royal.
Hodr Vecto Giro Mego K. Tyra Petar Exar Zeoda
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (JP), Kalob Martinez (EN)
- Ambiguously Brown: What ethnicity he's supposed to be is never stated.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Almost eternally mild-mannered, so if he expresses rage, you know the situation's bad or he's really pissed off.
- The Chains of Commanding: He really doesn't enjoy being king, especially in the middle of a war where his country is on the losing side.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: He cuts his hair towards the end of the first arc, during the downtime.
- Expy: He's a peculiar mixture of Bartholomew Fatima and Sigurd Harcourt, albeit with a different royal burden.
- Forgets to Eat: Apparently, he often used to skip meals.
- The Good King: Does his best to rule Krishna fairly despire the war.
- Happily Married: Averted along with his wife. While Hodr clearly still loves her, he's accepted that she'll never see him as anything more than a friend. He's even stopped wearing his ring.
- Hopeless Suitor: The only reason he got to marry Sigyn is because she wanted Rygart to pay attention. Even married, they don't act like a married couple, they never hold hands or even kiss.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He's still in love with Sigyn, but chooses to act like he's lost interest in favour of supporting her and Rygart together.
- Nice Guy: Someone who never treated Rygart poorly for being an unsorcerer.
- Overly Long Name: Unsurprising, considering that he's part of the royal family, but his full name is ridiculously long.
- Rebel Prince: During his academy days, he would apparently slack off and receive failing grades because he didn't want to become king.
- Sleeping Single: As stated above with Sigyn, the two sleep in different rooms. They have apparently never had sex despite being married, explaining the absence of heirs to the throne.
- Stepford Smiler: As he tells Rygart, he has to act like a king in front of everyone else, all the while fighting a war that he initially believes that he's going to lose.
- Unwanted Spouse: To Sigyn. She doesn't hate him, but clearly doesn't see him as anything more than a friend.
General Baldr G. Aran Albatross
Voiced by: Masashi Sugawara (JP), Rob Mungle (EN)
- Expy: of Khan Wong, mainly as a father figure to Rygart (and the actual father to Girge).
- Married to the Job: He notes that he didn't get to spend much time with Girge due to being a General.
- Parents as People: He does care about Girge, but ultimately has to prioritize his duties as a soldier and therefore didn't make for a very good father while Girge was growing up and has to acknowledge that, son or not, Girge is a threat to everyone around him.
- Shoot the Hostage: Did this in the past, with the hostage being Girge.
General Thor Bar Corway Rimreck
Voiced by: Kenichi Ogata (JP), Chris Ayres (EN)
- Pet the Dog: He's done a lot for orphanages, hence why Narvi adores him.
Narvi Stryze
Voiced by: Marina Inoue (JP), Shelley Calene-Black (EN)
- "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: When cornered by soldiers of Athens. She's then immediately saved by General Baldr, but it's the thought that counts."With my heroic name, I won't yield to some morally degenerate cavalry! Go to hell!"
- Groin Attack: She makes it very clear what will happen to Rygart if he disobeys her orders again: she'll shoot his balls off. It saves her once when a reflection one of its broken parts gives off alerts her of Niko's presence before the Athens soldier could assassinate her.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: As she notes, General True is hopeless without her.
- It Was a Gift: The hair clip Narvi's usually seen wearing is a gift General True had given her in the past.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A mild version. She reveals to Sigyn that Rygart's been somewhat unstable, which is eventually what gets him kicked out of the military. As that wasn't what Narvi intended at all, she's rather annoyed over the entire matter.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Her devotion to General True comes from being an orphan and therefore viewing him as a father figure.
- Rescue Romance: Her feelings for Rygart become more evident after he rescues her.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: She sports a frilly dress during a party, much to Nile's amusement and the other soldiers' awe.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: In her stats, her likes and dislikes (work/talent, respectively) are the opposite of Nile's. She's very dedicated to her duties and appears to have no interest in romance (especially in the manga), which is similarly the opposite of her laid-back and Sigyn-crazy brother.
Nile Stryze
Voiced by: Minoru Shiraishi (JP), Dylan Godwin (EN), Andrew Love (EN)
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Played for Laughs. He's got a thing for Sigyn, and thus declares that Rygart can't be forgiven when there are rumours that Sigyn ran off to be with him.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: He's one of the more light-hearted members of the team, and his debut notably has him glad that his departure to the front lines is being delayed, but he's as competent as everyone else when he's actually out there.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Hhis likes and dislikes are the opposite of Narvi, his sister.
Girge G. Ledo Le Albatross
Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi (JP), Corey Hartzog (EN)
- Amazon Chaser: According to his stats, he prefers women who are capable in martial arts and piloting Golems, hence why he's one of the few men not attracted to Sigyn. That said, he doesn't have a history of successful relationships from his academy years and so likely isn't still looking for one.
- Anti-Hero
- Because You Were Nice to Me: This seems to be the basic reasoning behind his later loyalty towards Rygart, as the man was the first person to honestly try and get Girge to be somebody—not as his father's son, but as himself.
- Blood Knight: He absolutely relishes the thrill of battle.
- Bratty Half-Pint: He's a bratty boy and aware of it.Rygart: You're basically just a bratty-kid!Girge: That, I already knew.
- Child Soldier: He's nineteen. As he's also been in prison for a year, he's actually been a soldier since younger than that, not to mention that he's been receiving training since he was quite young.
- Death Seeker: It seems less that Girge actively wants to die and more so that he just doesn't care about living (or much of anything) anymore.
- Dissonant Serenity: Never bats an eye even as he slaughters enemies by the dozen.
- Expy: Weirdly enough, he's Id if the latter is its own body and flesh rather than a split personality. This is played straight after he died, as he often appears in Rygart's mind when the latter's psyche is tested to take major decisions in the war.
- Faux Affably Evil: He can keep it together and act nice around his teammates, but his bloodlust is always boiling beneath the surface.
- Godzilla Threshold: The only reason he's out on the front lines instead of still being in jail is because his combat skills are considered too valuable to throw away.
- Handicapped Badass: Fighting with a one-legged and one-armed Golem didn't make him any less badass. In fact, he destroyed an elite troop of five with it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: When he and the others are captured, he claims to be Rygart and is executed in his place.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He's a bit of a standout in terms of appearance due to being one of the few significant male characters with long hair and strong androgynous traits. Even Narvi is not immune to his good looks in the anime.
- Military Brat: An ax-crazed Blood Knight example as the son of General Baldr, a fact that ties greatly in their shared backstory.
- Nerves of Steel: Never loses his cool even in the hairiest of situations.
- Pet the Dog: Eventually, he starts softening up around Rygart, due to Rygart's attempts to get him to actually do something with his life.
- Punch-Clock Hero: He doesn't really care about the cause-he just wants to kill.
- Token Evil Teammate: Wouldn't even be there if it wasn't for his insane piloting skills.
- Tragic Dream: Two, actually, though one of them is more of Rygart's dream than Girge's. Rygart's desire for Girge to become a General is cut short by Girge dying—for Rygart, no less—and Girge himself wishes that he could be a good son but knows that he's too much of a mess to ever achieve that.
- Troubled Child: He wasn't nearly as much of a Jerkass as he is now, but Baldr notes that he's always been very aloof.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: On top of that, it's a little unnerving to see him, as a kid, shoot criminals without batting an eye.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: For General Baldr, as becomes obvious when he dies for Rygart, believing that Rygart will be a better son for General Baldr than Girge himself could ever be by this point.
Regatz Arrow
Voiced by: Masumi Asano (JP), Larry Christian (EN)
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He's noted by the other villagers to be rather gloomy and cold, but he's got a heart of gold where it counts.
- Un-Sorcerer: He's unable to use quartz, just like Rygart.
Athens
Zess
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (JP), Leraldo Anzaldua (EN)
- Badass Boast: During his academy days:"If you stay within 10 meters of me, no one will pick a fight with you. Just don't get any closer than three meters."
- Becoming the Mask: Was supposed to assassinate Hodr during their academy days but eventually came to see him as a friend.
- Big Brother Worship: He'll do anything for his brother, thanks to an immense sense of guilt.
- Childhood Friend Romance: He and his wife have known each other since they were young.
- Dark and Troubled Past: There's been some kind of major incident that seems to have turned him into the person he is today.
- Evil All Along: He's been working against Krisna from the very beginning, back during their time in the academy.
- Face–Heel Turn: Not evil by any means, but in the past, he was strongly against war, making it a surprise to Rygart, Hodr, and Sigyn that he seems to have changed his mind out of loyalty to his brother. And he might not have been so against conflict in the first place—see Evil All Along.
- No Name Given: He's possibly the only recurring character whose last name is never mentioned.
- Put on a Bus: After Rygart seriously injures him, he's forced to stay behind in Athens and recuperate for a large portion of the story. The Bus Came Back and he's now the Chief General.
Cleo Saburafu
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (JP), Brittney Karbowski (EN)
- Badass Adorable: She's very adorable and also one of the most potentially talented pilots in the story.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: While in 'captivity' in Krishna, Sigyn treated Cleo extremely well, to the point that she was sad to leave. Because of that, Cleo's willing to turn traitor against Athens in order to rescue Sigyn from execution.
- Break the Cutie: She doesn't handle her comrades' deaths too well, though she seems to have recovered.
- Child Soldier: As per Athens policy, she's already enlisted in the Athens military at the age of 12. She also comes from a family of renowned Golem pilots.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Very cute and very clumsy outside of her Golem.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Because they make it harder for her to disable an enemy Golem without killing its pilot.
- Friendly Enemy: With Sigyn, despite her initial reservations. She later sees that the Krisna people aren't nearly as barbaric as she was taught.
- Genius Ditz: She took the least amount of time to adjust to the new Artemis golems. Her other squad mates took weeks, some took a month. Even Ace Pilot Zess took a week to get used to it. Cleo took only one day. Her acting team leader is understandably shocked.
- Great Escape: She and her family attempt to break Sigyn out of prison and back into Krishna territory.
- Heroic Lineage: The Saburafu family is famous for producing outstanding female Golem pilots.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: She takes on an enemy squad and disables at least four of them with just hand-to-hand alone. Only General Balder was able to successfully fend her off. Before that, she took out the Delphine that had taken out Zess just moments prior single-handedly with only two kicks.
- Luxury Prison Suite: Her 'jail cell' in Krishna was the Queen Sigyn's suite.
- Multigenerational Household: Both her mother and grandmother live in the same house.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: Subverted. She was taught that Krishna was a country of barbarians, who would do unspeakable things to their captives. After her stay with Sigyn in Krishna, she doesn't see them that way anymore. On the other side, with her own country's ultra-militaristic views and actions, Zess's growing vendetta against Krishna, and finally news of Sigyn's impending execution, she can't stomach it anymore.
- Opt Out: She eventually decides to retire from the military, deciding that Lee was right after all: she's not suited to be a soldier.
- Shipper on Deck: Definitely for Sigyn and Rygart. She can't help but become giddy whenever Rygart is mentioned because of Sigyn's reactions.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: She hates the thought of killing. She prefers melee combat so as to disable the enemy rather than take a chance that a bullet may kill them.
- Younger Than They Look: Despite physically looking as if she's in her late teens, she's only twelve.
Erekt
- Bald of Evil: Downplayed: He is bald, yeah, but he is far from being evil. In the anime version, he even spared the life of an enemy pilot at his mercy by just destroying his Golems arms and head but avoiding the cockpit.
Elia Saburafu
Cleo's mother and former head of the Saburafu Family. She retired from active service a while ago.
- All There in the Manual: One of the color spreads had Elia naked and tied up in chains. It is explained that this was done by Steiner, a sadist member of the Athenan Black Ops, who kidnapped Elia on her wedding day. Judging by Steiner's personality, she may had wanted to keep Elia for herself - by any means necessary. Naturally Elia does not regard Steiner's past 'affections' with any sort of fondness.
- Badass Family: The Saburafu are one of the highly regarded families in Athens for their lineage of outstanding female pilots.
- Defector from Decadence: She had quite the easy life back in Athens, being a well-known, retired Golem pilot from an illustrious family. She had her own issues/misgivings about how things were being done in her country but didn't say anything for not wanting to jeapordize her daughter's future.
- Thicker Than Water: Being a Saburafu, Elia was duty-bound to turn her daughter in and both of them knew it. Instead, she throws her lot with Cleo.
- Erekt: Miss Elia! How could a person of your caliber possibly be this impulsive?!Elia: I'm a mother, not some omnipotent goddess. And besides, my heart sides with Cleo on this.
- Mama Bear: Erekt manages to defeat Cleo in a one-on-one battle, so she hops into a disabled Golem, throws out the pilot, and comes back in time to shoot the gun out of his golem's hand.
- Mum Looks Like a Sister: She really looks like Cloe's older sister instead of her mother. When they reach Mizram, quite a few of the military personnel there mistake her for Cleo's elder sister, calling them the 'Saburafu Sisters'.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: Subverted. She joins her daughter and her own mother in turning traitor against Athens to save Sigyn.
- Hand Signals: Uses a version of these to communicate with Cleo to ambush their pursuers.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Cleo announced her intention to rescue Sigyn and drop from the Subarafu family, Elia slapped her across her cheek. She then mentioned that it was the first time she felt she had to discipline her daughter like that. Considering what Cleo was planning, one could have forgiven her even if she took more extreme measures.
- Retired Badass: If Erekt's reaction is anything to go by, Elia was a force to be reckoned with and highly respected amongst those who saw her in action.
- Shipper on Deck: Like her daughter, she also ships Sigyn and Rygart.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Downplayed. She gives the impression of a very serious former military person and parent and she is to a degree, but she'd much rather embarrass and tease her daughter than deal with her country's questionable military politics.
- Turncoat: A heroic example. She herself would not have done anything about Sigyn's situation if Cleo hadn't been so driven in the first place. Adding to the fact that it was Sigyn who had personally saved Cleo from being treated like a common prisoner of war helped in convincing Elia.
Lee Siuruan Sharon
Voiced by: Yuko Kaida (JP), Maggie Flecknoe (EN)
- Anti-Villain: Despite her unpleasant attitude, she sincerely believes Krisna are the scum of the earth who committed brutal war crimes against Athens.
- Kick the Dog: Lee murdered at least 4 foot soldiers that had no way to be a threat to her by crushing them with his Golem... one by one... In the anime version, she killed all of them at the same time by crushing them with her rifle but sadistically was holding the severed leg of one of them for no reason.
General Borcuse Deussenrudolf
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Jay Hickman (EN)
- Colonel Kilgore: Whilst he has no particular grudge against his enemy, and usually treats war with cool professionalism, he gets really fired up when it looks like he might be up against a Worthy Opponent.
- Combat Tentacles: His Golem has a pair of them, each shaped to resemble a scorpion's tail.
- Confusion Fu: This is the purpose of the heavy cloak his Golem wears, concealing both its anatomy and its huge arsenal of weaponry. His enemies have little idea of where to aim at and even less idea of where his next attack will be coming from.
- Dead Guy on Display: Since he's especially fond of using fear as a weapon against his enemies, this is a favourite tactic.
- Defiant to the End: Even after his Golem is wrecked, he gets out of the cockpit and empties his sidearm into the Delphine until Rygert squashes him.
- Eye Patch Of Power: He wears one over his right eye, making his appearance all the more menacing.
- Eye Scream: He lost his eye in the past when a child shot through it, due to his own reluctance to kill him.
- I Shall Taunt You: Purposely provokes Rygart into killing him by bringing up Girge.
- Logical Weakness: His Hykelion is a massive Walking Armoury, meaning that while it can attack and defend with vicious speed, it's a large target that's none too good at dodging. In other words, Borcuse's opponents can make decently short work of him by simply smashing his machine apart from outside his weapons' reach with attacks that sacrifice accuracy for power... and unluckily for him, Krisna has a Golem with Super-Strength.
- Multi-Melee Master: His Golem has an astonishing number of hidden weapons under its cloak. He's skilled with all of them.
- Necessarily Evil: How he views the atrocities he commits - in his mind, they just happen to be the fastest and most efficient way to permanently end a conflict.
- Pet the Dog: In spite of how cruel he is willing to be in the war, he sincerely loves his daughter.
Colonel Io Kardbar
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (JP), David Wald (EN)
- Death Seeker: General Borcuse suggests that he might want to die.
- Morality Pet: Niko's devotion towards him is her primary sympathetic trait.
- Survivor Guilt: He isn't too good at handling the death of his fellow soldiers, to the point where he leaves from the military after General Borcuse's death.
Ninakera "Niko" Drunei
Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (JP), Melissa Davis (EN)
- Berserk Button: Bringing up her real age is not the smartest idea ever as she gets crazy angry.
- Girl with Psycho Weapon: Her cute, innocent appearance contrasts sharply with her Golem, a towering brute with terrifying-looking serrated pincer-arms.
- Machete Mayhem: Her choice of weapon aside from the gun, when out of her Golem.
- Older Than They Look: She's actually twenty-five, despite looking like she's twelve.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: You can be forgiven for thinking that her name is Niko, given that her real name is only ever mentioned in a bio.
- Third-Person Person: When she's playing up the cutesy act, she speaks about herself in third person.
