This is a list of characters from the multimedia franchise Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter. Information here will mostly be in relation to the anime.
All spoilers will be unmarked.
The first of the six chosen drivers and arguably the main protagonist of the series. Kakeru is a reckless yet good-hearted kid with a passion for wrestling who always strives to be a hero, both to help those in need as well as making a good impression.
He pilots the Gyrozetter Raibird, often dubbed "The Crimson Lightning" by Mic-man Seki and is Arcadia's first completed Gyrozetter model. After suffering a bad defeat by the hands of Eraser-01, Raibird was later given an equippable upgrade while it was being rebuilt, dubbed as Raibird Hyper Spec, which gives the Gyrozetter added armor as well as increased speed. Raibird was upgraded once again, albeit a more permanent one, and was remade into Raibird Shining Edition during Kakeru and Rinne's time being stranded in the future of 2053.
Tropes relating to Kakeru
- Afraid of Needles: Kakeru, like most kids his age, have a fear of needles. He had to be dragged off in order to take his shot. He makes his displeasure known when Rinne reveals Prius Alpha's weapon, which turns out to be a giant needle laser. He even attempted to run away when Rinne was going to heal Raibird.
- Berserk Button: Kakeru goes mental when he believes anyone close to him is harmed (or will be harmed even) in any way. He activated his Final Burst twice this way; first was when he thought Eraser-01 killed his father and second was when Rinne pushed him out of the way of Great Kraken's Great Bunker Charge. Happens again when the Adamant Titan was about to strike a defenseless Souta.
- Wrestling is Serious Business for him. When Touma nonchalantly crushes and tosses an idolised wrestler's training ring, Kakeru wasted no time in sending him flying into the sky, Team Rocket-style.
- Butt-Monkey: Kakeru has a tendency to suffer Amusing Injuries during light-hearted moments, usually by the hands of Rinne.
- Catchphrase: Kakeru's "Depressingly Awesome", or simply using depressingly incorrectly as an adjective, to the confusion of those around him.
- Combination Attack: The Double Burst, Ice Pillar Roaring Flameslash, done together with Souta using Guiltice's ice powers and Raibird SE's fire.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown eyes and brown hair.
- Expressive Hair: They can also sometimes change shape depending on Kakeru's thoughts. The front one in particular often changes into a question mark shape when Kakeru's confused about something.
- Future Badass: It's revealed later that Kakeru became a professor in his adult years and started developing the plans for what would be the Moebius Engine together with Professor Goat.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: The Kakeru from the future has a scar across his nose.
- Idiot Hair: Kakeru has 3 of them, 1 in front and 1 on each side and they're all lightning bolt-shaped.
- Idiot Hero: He's also not the most knowledgeable out of the entire cast.
- Improbable Parking Skills: Kakeru shows off his driving skills in the first episode this way.
- Kiai: Has a tendency to do this, whether it's during a battle or something as mundane as running really fast.
- Machine Empathy: His bond with Raibird constantly grows over time and occasionally shares words with it.
- Meaningful Name: Doubles with Bilingual Bonus, but you know the kid really loves cars, when his name(Todoroki) is literally composed of the kanji for "car". THRICE. Kakeru(depending on the kanji used) can also mean "run" or "race".
- Mondegreen Gag: When he hears a somewhat complicated word, chances are, Kakeru will not understand what it means and repeats it as he heard it. He mistakenly heard "potential" as "pontentio salad" at one point. And then there's this gem in Episode 8;*after hearing the term 'artificial intelligence'*Kakeru: "Arty fee shall we dance?"Ms. Akana: "Where did the 'dance' even come from?"
- Not Quite Dead: Pulled this off three times in the anime.
- Pointless Band-Aid: Kakeru always has a bandage on his left cheek.
- Ret-Gone: Commander Hisaishi and Claude couldn't help but notice that the Kakeru in the video recording from the future was fairly faint in comparison to his friends. With the knowledge that Lord Goat came from the future, they immediately deduce Goat came to the present to exact revenge on him and the future Kakeru was in the process of this.
- Super-Speed: Only because Shunsuke got distracted by a stray bird, but just somehow... Kakeru was able to beat Shunsuke's GT-R in Gyrozetter form in a 400m race, on foot.
- Tricked-Out Gloves: Rule of Cool in effect; Kakeru has some neat gloves but that's about it.
- Unstoppable Rage: This is actually how Kakeru activates his first Final Burst. which can be considered borderline Traumatic Superpower Awakening; After believing Eraser-01 had killed his father, his rage allowed him to perform a Final Burst for the first time. When Eraser-01 reluctantly escapes, Kakeru can only angrily say his name before bursting into tears.
- A less dramatic example would be when Kakeru was experiencing chocolate withdrawal in Episode 18, where Kakeru went head to head against Shunsuke in order to get to the cargo of chocolate that was being dropped before Shunsuke can.
- Useless Accessory: Kakeru often wears a pair of red headphones. He's never seen using it to listen to anything however and Kakeru can hear people's conversations just fine as if the headphones weren't there at all.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Kakeru is a big fan of wrestling. Some of his moves were derived from his wrestling idols. A couple of shining examples would be his signature Lightning Slash, inspired by Yamajiri, and Hyper Blast which was a wrestling move Devil III was unable to complete until witnessing Kakeru's version.
Tropes relating to Kakeru's Gyrozetter
- Energy Weapon: Raibird has ranged moves of this caliber such as Thunderstorm Impact and Feather Storm. Shining Edition later has the ability to shoot lasers from its own sword.
- Flight: Raibird initially simply had increased jump height due to its exhaust propulsion. Shining Edition later came with the ability of actual flight.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Hyper Spec is technically this. After losing the rematch against Eraser-01, the Arcadian mechanics made plans to improve areas that took the most damage as they rebuild it. The result was added armor, an altered moveset and increased speed. This trope is downplayed however as after the Great Kraken battle where Kakeru was forced to eject the upgrades, Kakeru never donned the upgrade again and eventually improves his skills and moves without it. It reappears during the battle against Xenon's Adamant Titan but wasn't actually used much before Kakeru began to perform a Final Burst. The upgrade is then destroyed when Kakeru re-entered Earth's atmosphere when his Moebius Overdrive was interrupted by Eraser King.
- Shining Edition is a more traditional permanent version of this.
- Mix-and-Match Weapon: Raibird SE's sword has its handle upgraded into a gun grip and has a revolving chamber installed, giving the ability of Frickin' Laser Beams.
- Named Weapons: Raibird's sword is personally dubbed by Kakeru as the Thunderclap Blade.
- Playing with Fire
- Shock and Awe
The second chosen driver. Rinne is Kakeru's close friend since childhood and a talented ice skater. She often serves as the straight man whenever Kakeru's antics goes too far but she nonetheless enjoys his optimistic nature. Their relationship eventually causes Rinne to develop feelings for him. When its revealed that's she is part of the Rosettagraphy prophecy as a chosen driver, she refuses on the basis that it will be dangerous and that she's not a fighter. After some motivational words from her brother, her desire to look after Kakeru and her resonance with her Prius Alpha gave her the courage to join the fight.
She initially pilots her Toyota Prius Alpha, an elegant nurse-like Gyrozetter with a huge needle laser as a weapon, capable of long range damage as well sucking energy out from enemies. After Prius Alpha got badly damaged from the fight against Great Kraken, Rinne received a gift in the form of another Gyrozetter, Dolphine, which was made much more suited to Rinne's style as it has skating mobility, increased healing power and more options for combat. Dolphine eventually got remodeled and upgraded into Dolphine Triple Axel which gives it more durability as well as aquatic mobility.
Tropes relating to Rinne
- Big Sister Instinct: Age-inverted. When her big brother flying Gyro Ark #1 starts getting chased by Xenon, Rinne is quick to move out to protect him.
- Comical Angry Face: Rinne has a rather adorable angry face where she just puffs up her cheeks to a certain extent, such as when her brother off-handedly called her a needy sister or when she's mad at Kakeru for something.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Rinne knows she has feelings for Kakeru but doesn't outright say it. The best she could do is through actions or leaving subtle hints whenever the two argue.
- Dope Slap: Her famous INA BAUER!!! technique, usually used when either Kakeru or Michie make a fool of themselves. She even does it in-Gyrozetter.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Rinne wears a striped leg sock on her left leg..
- Rollerblade Good: Rinne's Tricked-Out Shoes have deployable wheels that allows her to skate on a normal surface.
- She's All Grown Up: Future Rinne has grown into quite a beautiful woman, yet still as meek as ever.
Tropes relating to Rinne's Gyrozetters
- Dance Battler: While Prius Alpha has its share of movements, both iterations of the Dolphine properly use this in their combat styles.
- Energy Weapon: Prius Alpha's EV Discharge.
- An Ice Person: Dolphine utilised this in its Final Burst, Aqua Princess; It froze a large area of the ocean to a point that the Gyro Ark can land on it.
- Laser Blade: Dolphine Triple Axel ditches its rings for a ribbon laser that can be straightened into one of these.
- Life Drain: Prius Alpha's EG Distribute, where it stabs its weapon into an opponent and drain its energy to be used on its allies.
- The Medic: Prius Alpha fills this role more than Dolphine. It's offensive abilities are limited aside from long-range laser fire, paralyzing ability and Life Drain.
- Motion Capture: This is used In-Universe for Dolphine, where Rinne's skating techniques are applied upon Dolphine using captured motion data.
- Named Weapons: Prius Alpha's Hybrid Laser Cannon.
- Rings of Death: Dolphine uses a pair of these as its weapons, which can also double as ranged weapons when thrown as well as its method of healing allies.
- Walk on Water: Dolphine Triple Axel comes with the ability of being able to hop along the surface of the ocean a fair distance
The third chosen driver. Shunsuke is a gifted racing driver who have raced against the fiercest of competition all over the world, and all of this at quite a young age. He is also the Commander's nephew. Similar to Rinne, Shunsuke also refused to join Arcadia in its fight against Xenon since he was "only interested in speed". He changed his mind after Kakeru reveals the true form of his Gyrozetter (by accident) during their impromptu challenge, intending to learn more about them.
Shunsuke pilots his blue Nissan GT-R, originally belonging to the creator of the Gyrozetters, Professor Claude. GT-R is a fierce blue knight-like Gyrozetter with great overall offense and defense as well as decent speed. While he appreciates the time he's spent with GT-R, he eventually began to miss his original car, a Nissan Fairlady Z. So he made a special request to Arcadia's mechanics to convert it into a Gyrozetter. Shunsuke's Fairlady Z differs from GT-R in that it's more of an elegant sword fighter as it uses a rapier-like sword and its fighting style involves more slashing and thrusting. It also has unique special attacks where it could produce swords out of thin air to rain down on its opponents.
Tropes relating to Shunsuke
- The Ace: Undeniably the best driver among the main cast.
- Big Brother Instinct: As Shunsuke and Souta are technically cousins, Shunsuke eventually starts to have this relationship with Souta after he rejoins Arcadia.
- The Lancer
- My Greatest Failure: He beats himself badly over the incident where Eraser-01 rips out GT-R's Moebius Engine, putting it in the hands of Xenon. He's also upset over not being able to prove Saki Kouno as a Xenon spy before it was too late as he was unable to find any concrete proof.
Tropes relating to Shunsuke's Gyrozetters
- Badass Cape: Fairlady Z.
- Combining Mecha: Shunsuke gets to show off what Arcadia was working on in Episode 26, performing the first Hyper Speed Combination. Combining his GT-R with Skyline GT-R and another GT-R forms the behemoth known as GT-RRR. Touma gets blown up while Haruka pulled a Screw This, I'm Outta Here.
- More Dakka: GT-R during its Final Burst, Supersonic Bullet; Shunsuke receives a pair of machine guns through Takumi's aid and goes crazy with them, firing a barrage of gunfire before the big finish. This is utilised more conventionally during the fight against Death Xenon.
- Royal Rapier: Fairlady Z uses one of these, in contrast to GT-R's sword and shield.
- Shoulders of Doom: Fairlady Z's shoulder pieces are huuuuuge, even for Gyrozetter standards.
- Wave-Motion Gun: How GT-R's Final Burst, Supersonic Bullet, ends.
The confirmed fourth driver of the Rosettagraphy prophecy. Michie is Kakeru's other friend who often hangs out with Kakeru and Rinne, often being part of Kakeru's shenanigans. Hoping to grow up to be a comedian, Michie always like to lift people's spirits by cracking jokes, inspired by an old shopkeeper from his childhood who always keeps a happy face despite his failing business.
Michie pilots Kong Roader, an orange jeep that transforms into a stout powerful gorilla-like Gyrozetter with piledrivers for arms. It's the powerhouse of the group and it can always throw a good punch. It eventually got upgraded into Kong Roader Gigant Cross, where it was made even more powerful as well as being more durable in a fight.
Tropes relating to Michie
Tropes relating to Michie's Gyrozetter
The fifth chosen driver. Satori is a transfer student from Kyoto with a bad sense of direction who also has a penchant for most things spiritual, like fortunes and predictions. She is also spiritually sensitive, which starts to affect her when she begins to see signs and visions about the future after performing her Final Burst.
Her Gyrozetter is Anubia, a bipedal dog-like Gyrozetter in semblance to its namesake, which specialises in long range combat inspired by Satori's archery skills. It is later upgraded into Anubia Nadesico Form, which not only gives it new long range attacks but also a naginata as a melee weapon for close-range fights.
Tropes relating to Satori
Tropes relating to Satori's Gyrozetter
Souta Gunji was Commander Hisaishi's son and a good childhood friend of Kakeru and Rinne after they entered Arcadia. He had an undisclosed illness so he was required to be hospitalised. Nonetheless, Souta grew a strong bond with Kakeru over their love for wrestling and he promised to see him once he's finally cured. Eventually, he was moved out of the hospital and, unbeknownst to the Commander and Kakeru, was taken by Xenon to be used as an experiment for the Soul Eraser program. Years passed and Eraser-01 was born; a ruthless bloodthirsty Gyrozetter pilot forced to follow Xenon's will. He loves nothing but the heat of battle and deems everything except his superiors "trash". He pilots Guiltice, a powerful and deadly Xenon Gyrozetter with blades on each forearm and a powerful laser weapon. After his technical defeat by Kakeru's Final Burst, he made personal improvements on Guiltice, donning the moniker "Extreme" and defeats Kakeru in a rematch.
After stealing the Moebius Engine from Shunsuke's GT-R, it was later installed into Guiltice in order to use the Engine's power against the Arcadians since its revealed that Eraser-01 is a chosen driver. However, during a duel against Kakeru, the Engine eventually made a connection with Eraser-01's lost soul with the help of Kakeru's cries for his lost friend and the resonance from Raibird's Engine. It eventually reformed Guiltice and destroyed Eraser's Soul Eraser, bringing the long lost Souta back. After a fight with Eraser Queen, Souta eventually rejoins Arcadia and his friends as the sixth chosen driver.
Tropes relating to Souta
Tropes relating to Souta's Gyrozetter
The headmaster of the Arcadia Academy as well as the Commander-in-chief of Arcadia's Secret Defense Agency. He is the person present during public events regarding around the introduction of Gyrozetters in New Yokohama Centre and the man responsible for the important decisions regarding Arcadia's operations. He is the father of Souta Gunji and Shunsuke Hayami's uncle.
- Commanding Coolness: He wastes no time in giving the appropriate orders whenever Xenon appears to wreak havoc.
- Distressed Dude: Was kidnapped by Saki in Episode 26, where he finally confirms his suspicions that Eraser-01 is his lost son.
- My Greatest Failure: Not being able to see his son Souta before he was hospitalised due to his duties as Commander and the news that Souta had mysteriously disappeared has since weighed heavily in his mind as a father.
A teacher at the Arcadia Academy who also doubles as the operator leader for Arcadia's Secret Defense Agency. In her early years, she was a racing driver who had won her fair share of races, gaining plenty of attention that even Shunsuke is aware of her reputation. Nowadays, she serves as the kids' Mission Control as well as their support when needed as a great teacher should. Also provides the occasional Fanservice here and there.
- Badass Driver: Gets to showcase her driving skills as a former racer in Episode 22 to awe of the kids (except Shunsuke who was aware of her past) when she chases down Haruka who has stolen an important document.
- Feeling Their Age: At age 26, she's already beginning to suspect that her skin's starting to sag, to the shock of her co-operators. Yuika insists she's just worrying too much.
- Fiery Redhead: Implied in her younger years. She's described as "reckless" when she was younger (to which Saki responds by implying she's still reckless now) and she has red hair.
- Ms. Fanservice: It's no secret that the anime, at least, tries to milk her beauty as much as it could when appropriate. You even get a small shot of underboob as early as Episode 2.
- Pit Girls: She is quick to don her "race queen" attire whenever a race event or competition is involved.
Dubbed the "father of Gyrozetters". He is the current head of the Majima Space Institute where the Rosettagraphy currently stands. Using the information that is slowly being deciphered from the engravings that appeared, he learned about the prophecy where a dreadful future awaits for the world, as well as the countermeasures that could prevent it; the Gyrozetter blueprints, the plans for the Moebius Engine and the names of the chosen drivers that could use them. He is a lively old man with plenty of knowledge and wisdom that he could pass onto the drivers and hopes for nothing more than the safety of the future.
Saki Kouno is the Commander's fair yet stern secretary who assists him in overlooking the operations at Arcadia. A knowledgeable and busy woman, she does't have much of a social life aside from her interactions with her co-workers and the drivers. Unfortunately, after Xenon was able to obtain one of Arcadia's Moebius Engines, Saki reveals herself as a spy and that she was working for Xenon all along, believing that it will be Xenon that will save the future, not Arcadia.
For tropes in relation to her time as an Eraser Royal, see Eraser Queen.
- Love Hurts: An interpretation of her motive of allowing herself to go through the Soul Eraser process; Saki had an affection for Yutaka Hisaishi. However, him already being a married man, she knows she can no longer be with the man she loves through legitimate means, not to mention that he is affiliated with the enemy. So to work efficiently for Xenon, she wants to have this feeling disappear...
- Saki: "This wish that leads only to sorrow will be gone..."
- My God, What Have I Done?: After her Soul Eraser was destroyed, she is quick to realise that the actions of Xenon at this point were not what she had hoped for and upon reconnecting with her former Arcadia colleagues, she genuinely regrets her actions.
Rinne's big brother, a regular Arcadian mechanic who always maintain the Gyrozetters with great care. He always has great faith in her little sister in anything she does, whether its ice skating or fighting ability.
A young member of the Arcadian mechanics.
An Arcadian mechanic with a bit of mean streak but really means well.
- Offscreen Romance: With Yuika. This is hinted at during Episode 18 where Yuika gives Rekka her Valentine's chocolate.
- Pops up again in Episode 47 where they apparently had a fight offscreen prior. They made up as they watch the fireworks together.
The eldest of the Arcadian mechanics. He makes it a point to do his best in maintaining the heroes' Gyrozetters. And with his age comes plenty of experience that he could share with anyone, either with the mechanics or even the drivers.
A rookie mechanic with intent of learning from her Arcadian seniors.
- Naked People Are Funny: A victim in Episode 5 where Michie crashes into the hot springs where the female characters were relaxing by complete accident. He unintentionally gets an eyeful of Akira who dropped her Modesty Towel, leading to a Naked Freak-Out.
- The Smurfette Principle: Seemingly, Akira is the only female Arcadia mechanic throughout the whole division, at least on screen.
- Wrench Wench
An operator of Arcadia's Secret Defense Agency. Her terminal is on the center-left.
- Running Gag: There's a bit of a gag involving Kotoha's age. She is officially 29 but Kakeru and Michie heard different answers of the younger variety, and she got her button pressed when Kirari attempts to woo Shunsuke thinking he would like someone closer to his age, sending Kotoha into a mini-tirade since she's also interested in him.
- Happens again in Episode 47 where she said she had her 29th birthday during the month but Michie points out that she was already 29 before then, meaning that now she should at least be 30.Kotoha: "So what? I'm eternally 29."
- Happens again in Episode 47 where she said she had her 29th birthday during the month but Michie points out that she was already 29 before then, meaning that now she should at least be 30.
An operator of Arcadia's Secret Defense Agency. Her terminal is furthest to the right.
- Calling Your Attacks: Her Jamming Web special card attack.
- Offscreen Romance: With Rekka. This is hinted at during Episode 18 where Yuika gives Rekka her Valentine's chocolate.
- Pops up again in Episode 47 where they apparently had a fight offscreen prior. They made up as they watch the fireworks together.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: While the other operators wear their "race queen" outfits with pride, Yuika is the only one who is often seen being somewhat uncomfortable wearing it, sometimes even trying to cover herself.
An operator of Arcadia's Secret Defense Agency. Her terminal is on the center-right. She has quite the crush on Shunsuke and will occasionally try to hook up with him.
- The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest among the Arcadia operators.
- Girlish Pigtails
- Guest-Star Party Member: Because one member was unable to make it, Kakeru had the good idea of having Kirari fill the missing spot so that Rikako and Kaede could compete in the Arcadia GP.
A newly-hired operator for Arcadia's Secret Defense Agency. Her terminal was furthest to the left. After Saki was revealed to be a Xenon spy, Sei was eventually promoted to fill in as Commander Hisaishi's secretary.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak
- Tsundere: In Episode 8, Satori thanks Sei in being able to remove the hacking virus from Anubia, while Sei responds that she only did it so she could get her car back, while looking away in the distance. She even the said the classic line of "I-It's not like I did it for you or anything!".
A pair of twin siblings who are also Arcadia's chosen drivers in the year of 2053.
- La Résistance: Yuuki, Erika and a few others are the only members left after Arcadia lost the Gyrozetter war. Nonetheless, they still fight back against Xenon's tyranny.
