This is the character sheet of Karakuri Circus.
All spoilers are unmarked in regards to spoiler characters.
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Main Characters
Narumi Kato
Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama
A martial artist suffering from a mysterious disease known as the Zonapha Syndrome.- Accidental Pervert: Narumi decides to go help an injured Masaru bathe. Unfortunately, Shirogane already had the same idea.
- All-Loving Hero: He wanted to save everyone even when his head tells him not to.
- Alternate Character Reading: During Narumi's tenure in China, he is referred to as Ming Hai, the modern Chinese pronunciation of his name.
- Artificial Limbs: He receives Arlequin's detached left arm after he goes missing. During the battle of Sahara, his remaining limbs are replaced by the parts of the puppets used by fallen Shirogane. At the end of the series, however, he gets his old left arm reattached.
- Ass-Kicking Pose: He always starts with Xing Yi Quan's Santishi pose before beating his opponents.
- Badass Normal: At the beginning of the series, he is able to go toe-to-toe with puppet masters despite being a normal human, without any weapons. Despite becoming a Shirogane later on, he still fights the same way.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: He is a master of qigong and Chinese martial arts, Xing Yi Quan.
- Big Damn Kiss: With Éléonore in the final volume. The entire scene is made to look exactly like a wedding, and there's even a pastor to witness it.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: His prosthetic left arm, being Arlequin's arm, complete with the Blade of St George.
- Character Development: In the early part of the series, he is a Hot-Blooded Gentle Giant with the Face of a Thug. After visiting a hospital for the Zonapha Syndrome patients, he becomes a Knight in Sour Armor. This worsens after the battle of Sahara where he's so burdened by Survivor Guilt that he becomes a cold person like Éléonore at the beginning of the series. He changes back to his early persona when Masaru gives him a Get A Hold Of Yourself Man speech after their Back-to-Back Badasses moment.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: He wants to save everyone after he witnesses the horror of the Zonapha Syndrome in the first part. This is one of the reasons that contributes to his Heroic BSoD after the battle of Sahara.
- The Comically Serious: Narumi's nonexistent sense of humor is a problem because only making someone laugh can stop his Incurable Cough of Death. It crosses over into So Unfunny, It's Funny, at times.
- Determinator: Nothing will stop Narumi, not even death, or loss of his arm, or even replacement of his limbs.
- Easy Amnesia: After he sacrifices himself to save Masaru, he loses most of his memories with him and Shirogane.
- Face of a Thug: He looks pretty scary, which doesn't help for his survival since he has to make someone laugh.
- Friend to All Children: Hurting a child is a good way to enrage him.
- Gentle Giant: He towers many people, he is big and muscular, but he is a kind man who fights for children and the weak.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Gives an epic one to Masaru during their first meeting.Masaru: (cries) I should have died alone instead of dragging you into this.
Narumi: (gives a slap) Don't give up! This isn't your fault! You didn't do anything wrong! If you need help, shout for help! If you're angry, speak out! Fight, struggle, do what you can. If all else fails, I guess all you can do then is smile. - Heroic BSoD: His reaction after learning that the Francine puppet in the Sahara was a Body Double, making all of Shirogane's sacrifice All for Nothing.
- Heroic RRoD: During the battle of Sahara, he falls unconscious and begins crystallizing due to excessive blood loss after saving every Shirogane from their death.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Narumi is a little rough around the edges, and while he claims that he only saves Masaru to survive the Zonapha syndrome, he goes through hell for the boy.
- The Last of His Kind: He is the last Shirogane to be created the traditional way and by the end of the series, he is one of the last that are still alive.
- Megaton Punch: Like Real Life movesets of Xing Yi Quan, his attacks consist of well-placed power shots that can knock down men and automata in one hit. In fact, most automata blow up from the inside once he hits them.
- Nice Guy: He's a bit rough around the edge, but it doesn't take long for most people to know his kindness.
- No Sense of Humor: Unfortunately for him, the only way to stop his Incurable Cough of Death is to make someone laugh, and he really sucks at it.
- Shown Their Work: Narumi uses the real movements in Xing Yi Quan, especially the Five Element Fists. One can easily spot which of them are Splitting Fist, Drilling Fist, Crossing Fist, Crushing Fist, and Cannon Fist.
- Survivor Guilt: After the battle of Sahara, as all his companions seemingly died for nothing.
- Tragic Keepsake: His artificial limbs that were created from the puppets of the other Shirogane during the battle of Sahara. This is why he refused to change it even though Fou offered him a set of more natural looking prosthetic limbs.
- Younger Than They Look: Narumi is mistaken for 28 years old by another Shirogane Steve Rockenfeld when in fact he is only 19 years old at the time.
Masaru Saiga
Voiced by: Chihiro Ueda
The heir to the Saiga business empire.- All-Loving Hero: Masaru forgives a man who nearly got everyone he knew killed for the sake of money, and then saves his life.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: He is able to control Arlequin by looking at and copying Shirogane's movements. He also gives Ashihana instructions on how to utilize his puppet's secret weapons to get out of a sticky situation by simply looking at the puppet. After viewing the memory of his grandfather and Faceless, he knows how to dismantle automata because he knows their every structure and assembly points. In fact, he is the first one to recognize Faceless in disguise during his interrogation in Kuroga Village.
- Character Development: He goes from a kid that only knows how to cry to the hero that can fight toe to toe with the Big Bad.
- Child Prodigy: At eleven, he can control puppets simply by looking at and copying Shirogane's movements. He's also able to use Shoji's sword technique after having a glimpse of the latter's memory.
- The Chessmaster: His scheming and planning can give the Big Bad a run for his money.
- Covered in Scars: Masaru's bullies and classmates find out the hard way that he wasn't "on a vacation" as his entire body was wracked with rugged cuts and bruises from his fairly-recent battles.
- Failure Gambit: He deliberately allows Faceless to upload a copy of his consciousness into his brain, banking on the fact that the Healing Factor he received from Shirogane would've protected him. As a result, Faceless drops his guard because he assumes that "Masaru" is now a copy of himself.
- Green-Eyed Monster: When Guy comes along, Masaru acts like a jealous suitor over Éléonore, but he's doing it on behalf of Narumi.
- Heroic Bastard: He is the illegitimate son of Sadayoshi Saiga and his mistress, though the manga reveals during the Interrogation arc that he's actually unrelated to Sadayoshi by blood just like all of his legitimate siblings. He's also one of the kindest characters in the series.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In the final volume, he realizes that he loves Éléonore romantically but decides not to do anything about it because Éléonore is in love with Narumi and Masaru just wants her to be happy. In fact, it's this attitude that distinguishes him from the Big Bad.
- Lonely Rich Kid: He received an enormous inheritance from his father, the CEO of the Saiga business empire, even though he only wanted money to make a grave for his mother. The manga depicts him as lonely both at home and in school before meeting Narumi and Shirogane.
- Marionette Master: Thanks to his father's Mind Transfer trick gone wrong, Masaru inherited his father's abilities to control puppets.
- Meaningful Name: Sadayoshi claimed that he named his son Masaru after the kanji for "to win" because he liked to be a winner. This was the time where he showed his true color to Shoji.
- Practically Different Generations: Masaru is in elementary school while his legitimate siblings are all adults.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: The anime skips all references to Masaru being actually unrelated to Sadayoshi by blood just like all of his legitimate siblings.
Shirogane / Éléonore
Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara
Masaru's bodyguard and a puppet master.- Action Girl: She has been trained her entire life to be a perfect puppet master.
- But Not Too Foreign: The Interrogation arc reveals that she's only half-French as her father was Japanese.
- Casting Gag: Megumi Hayashibara already voiced a pale, short-haired girl.
- Contortionist: In one scene, Shirogane does a Dope Slap to Narumi by whipping her foot up from behind her back to kick him in the head. Masaru lampshades this with an aside, saying, "Shirogane, are you made of rubber?"
- Decoy Backstory: Early in the series, Eleonore claims that she accepted Shoji's request to protect Masaru because he saved her family from poverty. During the Interrogation Arc of the manga, it's revealed that Sadayoshi fabricated this backstory when he impersonated her father Shoji.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Shirogane is brusque and even insulting at first, but levels out later on.
- Even the Girls Want Her: When the Nakamichi Circus is doing their park performance, Shirogane is performing as the Snake King, causing the instant squees from the girls.
- Fantastic Medicinal Bodily Product: Like other Shirogane, her blood has healing properties. Except that due to the circumstances of her infancy, her blood is exponentially more powerful.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Shirogane's puppet, Arlequin, uses a detached left arm to fight with.
- Identical Grandson: She looked exactly like her great-grandaunt Francine.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: Shirogane has occasionally thrown off her shoes and/or socks in battle, left them behind, and gone into action barefoot because she needs to use her toes to operate her puppet.
- Love Martyr: She is willing to die by Narumi's hand to ease his survivor's guilt.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: The Interrogation arc reveals that she is the biological daughter of Shoji and Angelina, making her Masaru's adoptive aunt. Neither of them knew it.
- Mama Bear: She will protect Masaru no matter what.
- Marionette Master: As per Shirogane's tradition, she was trained as a puppeteer to fight automata.
- Really 700 Years Old: She's actually 91-year-old since Shiroganes age 5 times slower than ordinary people.
- Serrated Blade of Pain: The Sword of St. George embedded in Arlequin's arm is a curved black blade with a serrated edge. Narumi ends up using it to slice automata to pieces after he's given Arlequin's arm.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She looks exactly like her mother Angelina.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Shirogane initially comes off as somewhat haughty and cold, but later her inherent sweetness shows through.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Growing up as a Shirogane left her emotionally stunted, and she only started feeling romantic love when she met Narumi.
Nakamachi Circus
Talanda "Lise" Liselotte Tachibana
Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa
A 14-year-old beast tamer.- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Zigzagged. In the anime, she's so traumatized by the death of her twin sister at the fangs of the tiger Beast that she can only tame small animals until the Mont Saint Michel arc. However, the anime also removes all references to her strained relationship with and inferiority complex towards her twin sister.
- But Not Too Foreign: The manga states that she's half-German half-Japanese.
- Fluffy Tamer: She is able to tame cats, dogs, and her pet lion Drum.
- Younger Than They Look: She looks to be around Shirogane's age, but she's actually 14.
China
Liang Ming-Xia
Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjo
The daughter of Liang Jian-Feng. A martial artist that aspires to become an actress.- Action Girl: She learned martial arts from her father and can hold herself well when facing the automata.
- Badass Normal: She's an ordinary human but can destroy automaton with her fist.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: She is a practitioner of Xing Yi Quan.
Liang Jian-Feng
Voiced by: Katsuhisa Houki
Narumi's martial arts master in China. Liang Ming-Xia's father.- Bare-Fisted Monk: He is a practitioner of Xing Yi Quan.
- Old Master: He is Narumi's martial arts master and it shows. He can beat enhanced speed automata without breaking a sweat while having the Zonapha Syndrome. Even Pantalone has trouble landing a hit on him.
Shirogane
General
- Eye Colour Change: They have silver eyes as a side effect of Aqua Vitae.
- Healing Factor: They can regenerate their wounds as long as they didn't suffer excessive blood loss, decapitation, or being dropped 30000 ft from a plane.
- He Who Fights Monsters: The purpose of the Shirogane is to destroy all the automata but they always lament themselves that they are no better than the automata that they fight.
- Locked into Strangeness: Drinking the Aqua Vitae gives every Shirogane silver hair.
- Marionette Master: They have their own puppets to combat the automata.
- Meaningful Name: Shirogane means silver in Japanese and they have silver hair and eyes as side effects of Aqua Vitae. They call themselves after the Japanese name of their creator, Bai Yin, because all but two of them share his soul though, unlike the current incarnation of Bai Jin, they keep their original memories and personalities.
- Really 700 Years Old: They age 5 times slower than ordinary humans.
- Taken for Granite: A Shirogane crystalizes and shatters when they die from excessive blood loss.
Lucille Verneuil
Voiced by: Romi Park
The very first Shirogane.- Cool Sword: Her cherished weapon is a rapier from the Napoleonic age with brass handles.
- Happily Married: She was happily married to her husband until his death, which was one of the big reasons for her hatred of all automata.
- I Shall Taunt You: She forces "Les Quatres Pionniers" to immobility by showing them a perfect replica of their mistress Francine. This eventually leads to Dottore renouncing his loyalty and dying as a result since Francine is their only raison d'etre.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Seeing her young son killed by Dottore drove her to spend the rest of her life seeking revenge against all automata.
Guy Christoph Rech
Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki
A powerful Shirogane with a huge mother complex.- Happily Adopted: He was happily adopted by Angelina and her influence on him continued until the present despite their short time together.
- More Dakka: Olympia is equipped with machine guns and Gatling guns for air combat.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Olympia has four arms, plus two arms on its wings that are equipped with blades. Its normal four arms are also equipped with syringes that can be used to drain out automata's artificial body fluid.
- Pietà Plagiarism: In the chaptet titled Pietà, he dies with his puppet, Olympia, holding him in its arms.
- Red Baron: He is nicknamed Olympia's Lover and the Destroyer of 200 automata. He got the latter nickname because he destroyed 200 automata in one night during the event of the attack on Angelina after she gave birth to Éléonore.
- The Stoic: He seems unfazed with everything that happens around him. But as later Narumi and Masaru finds out, this is not the case.
- Tranquil Fury: Guy says that there are two types of anger; one is exploding violently like a volcano and the other is burning silently like a furnace. He is the latter.
George LaRoche
Voiced by: Hamada Kenji
The first of the Shirogane-O to be introduced.- Cyborg: Like all Shirogane-O, his body has been heavily modified with technology. Taken a step further with the reveal that the Shirogane-O who switch to Faceless's side are all mental copies of their originals downloaded into wholly synthetic bodies. George's modified body is his original.
- Hidden Depths: His dream in life before becoming a Shirogane was to play piano, but his music teacher told him that his playing was like a metronome, without any emotional impact. After playing for a group of children toward the end of the series, the fact that they enjoyed it and wanted him to play again gives him the strength to go all out fighting for them, and Go Out with a Smile.
- Odd Friendship: During and after the battle of the Sahara, the cold and seemingly emotionless George forms a bond with the slovenly, hedonistic hitman Ashihana.
- Token Heroic Orc: After the battle of the Sahara, he's the only surviving Shirogane-O who doesn't join Faceless.
- Weaponized Ball: George's weapon is a ball made of numerous blades that form around him and spin at high speeds to chop apart anything it rolls toward. In theory.
- The Worf Effect: Even though Shirogane-O are supposed to have higher performance than un-modified Shirogane, he gets beaten by the automatons with shocking ease.
Fou Claude Boileau
Voiced by: Hiroshi Naka
The narrator of the story.- Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: It's stated that 30 percent of the wealth in the world belongs to him. The Shirogane does not need to worry about funding because he is the one that finances them.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He is the narrator of the manga, which comes back to play a big part in the final arc where he puts everything in motion to save the world.
Midnight Circus
Francine (The Automaton)
Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara
The mistress of the Midnight Circus. The first automaton created by Bai Jin, she wished to be able to smile since she believed that would bring her creator back.- Dead All Along: The automaton Francine during the battle of Sahara is a fake. The real automaton Francine died 90 years ago.
- Emotionless Girl: As the first sentient automaton, she was not as complete as others after her. She finally gains her first and final smile thanks to baby Éléonore.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In her final moments, she used every ounce of her strength to protect baby Éléonore.
- Mama Bear: Even while dying, she used all her remaining strength to save baby Éléonore.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Due to the actions of her creator, and the psychotic automata made to serve her, many believed she was the most evil of the automata, but in reality, she was never truly evil, to begin with.
- Replacement Goldfish: Bai Jin created her as a replacement for the original Francine, and since she couldn't accomplish it, everything went to hell.
- Undying Loyalty: Due to her nature as an automaton, she is so loyal to her creator and his desire for "Francine's smile" that she created the Midnight Circus just to fulfill that wish. In a similar vein, her subjects are so loyal to her that just even falsely saying that they reject her will cause their immediate death. Their loyalty also extends to Éléonore, either due to their identical appearances or because some parts of the automaton Francine remain within Éléonore.
Arlecchino
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
The musician of the Midnight Circus, one of the first four automata, known as "Les Quatres Pionniers". He uses fire in combat as well as his lute.- Affably Evil: He's genuinely polite, calm and suave, but still an amoral piece of crap.
- Bad Boss: Zigzagged. He mistreats and threatens his own underlings, but he doesn't kill them if only because he needs them alive to travel back to the Midnight Circus.
- Died Happily Ever After: He dies with Pantalone, having finally fulfilled their entire reason for existing: to make "Francine" smile.
- Exotic Eye Designs: His left eye is blank while his right eye has two separate irises with pupils.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: He is split in half at waist level the first time. It happens again vertically the second time around.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: He's by far the most destructive of the Four Pioneers, but he usually restricts his abilities to avoid causing collateral damage. The instant he can let loose, he repeatedly blasts Brighella around the scenery.
- Instrument of Murder: He has a splendid arming sword concealed within his lute. He also can generate sonic shockwaves with it.
- Kill It with Fire: He is equipped with a Flame Thrower in his hand, but also through the threads in his clothing.
- Licked by the Dog: He's filled with warm feelings when Lise smiles at him for saving her from the beasts. This pushes him to rescue her from "Les Dernier Quatre".
- Light Is Not Good: He's dressed in pristine white, but he's part of an army of automata killing people by the hundreds and spreading a deadly disease. It's subverted when "Francine" orders him to not harm humans anymore.
- Oh, Crap!: He faces Narumi, confident in his defense, only to recoil in pain and disbelief when Narumi manages to actually punch him hard enough to actually affect him.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He tells Brighella that, in spite of his boasting, Narumi is much stronger than both of them.
- Single-Stroke Battle: How Narumi kills him during the battle of Sahara, providing a climax to their long-awaited match.
- Undying Loyalty: To the automaton Francine, and by extension, Éléonore.
- Worthy Opponent: He views Narumi as one, to the point of mocking Brighella for thinking he could beat Narumi.
Pantalone
Voiced by: Joji Nakata
The tumbler of the Midnight Circus, one of the first four automata, known as "Les Quatres Pionniers", he's the first to appear.- An Arm and a Leg: He loses an arm fighting Ashihana thanks to the latter's Pulcinella.
- Blow You Away: He can launch high-pressure air blasts from his hand, that acts like bullets.
- Creepily Long Arms: He has extremely long arms and is a creepy-looking old man. Deconstructed when Narumi snaps one of his extended arms so that the palm loaded with a shot of compressed air is redirected back to him.
- Defiant to the End: Even as Harlequin has reduced him to a torso and is about to kill him, he has the guts to trash his "dream", calling him an idiot and laughing in his face, causing him to lose composure for the first time.
- Died Happily Ever After: He dies with Arlecchino, having finally fulfilled their entire reason for existing: to make "Francine" smile.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: He's reluctant to fight Ashihana outside the Zonapha Treatment facility as Éléonore has ordered him not to harm humans.
- Evil Old Folks: While "Les Quatres Pionniers" were created at the same time, Pantalone looks like an old, shriveled codger.
- Gag Nose: He sports a very long, arched nose, like his namesake.
- Hero Killer: In his first appearance, he causes the death of Ming Xia's father.
- Hidden Depths: After being given his last order by Éléonore, he acts for a brief moment as a blissful, joyful old man, wanting to perform with Arlecchino under a real circus tent and even wanting to sing.
- Humble Pie: He becomes much more somber, humble and quiet after his resurrection.
- Lean and Mean: He's rather gaunt and tall, and he's one of the oldest, cruelest automata.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After being shocked by Harlequin and wounded, he spends the rest of the fight taunting his opponent's silly dream of love for "Francine".
- Smug Super: He is the most arrogant of "Les Quatres Pionniers", making his Villainous Breakdown during the battle of Sahara more satisfying to watch.
- Too Important to Walk: When he first appears in China in the manga, he's sitting on the shoulders of six Chinese-looking automata.
- Undying Loyalty: To the automaton Francine, and by extension, Éléonore.
- Villainous Breakdown: When Narumi kicks his ass without breaking a sweat. This is the first time that the human that he looks down on beats him in direct combat, causing him to become much more unhinged and careless.
- You Shall Not Pass!: After his Face–Heel Turn, he tries to buy the good guys time to leave the American facility fighting against an army of automata. Subverted when Narumi saves him and takes him with them.
Colombine
Voiced by: Aoi Yūki
The acrobat of the Midnight Circus, one of the first four automata, known as "Les Quatres Pionniers", the sole woman of the group.- Adaptational Wimp: In the anime, most of her abilities and skills during the battle of Sahara are left out and she gets an Undignified Death by the hands of Timbavati. In the manga, she causes the death of Dahl, the strongest Shirogane present, not only is she injected with venom but she's also severely beaten by Pentagona Knocker and still manages to stay conscious right after Arlecchino's death.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: She helps Masaru after he instinctively hugs her as she recoils from an attack.
- Dark Action Girl: She's the only woman of "Les Quatres Pionniers" and she's just as bad as everyone else. She gets much better after her resurrection.
- Died Happily Ever After: She dies in the arms of a man she likes after sacrificing herself to protect him.
- Double Entendre: During her brief confrontation against Narumi, the word she uses for "embrace" can be seen as much more sexual than it is, as well as her choice of words when she says that "no one who's faced me has survived".
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her second form after Faceless resurrects her. Apparently, her original body was too damaged to be repaired.
- Fille Fatale: In her second form, she gets quite teasy with Masaru despite looking much younger.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Rather than save herself from death, she uses the micro automatic bugs Apollions to make sure Masaru and Éléonore land safely.
- Hot Blade: Her Les Mains Blanches Immaculé has her heating her palm until it's white in order to burn through and melt anything in her way.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Colombine is fascinated by romance novels and wishes that one day, she will be held in the arms of the man she loves just like in those stories. She even spends her first "fight" against Narumi flirting with him and trying to get him to hug her.
- I'm Melting!: During the battle of Sahara, she dies after Timbavati immobilizes her in his Mamba marionette, which sprays her with blood sucked from Timbavati himself. Since he's a Shirogane, it melts her skin and kills her. In the manga, she gets injected with venom, so the damages she receives are downplayed and takes longer to die.
- No-Sell: In the manga, she faces Narumi after he kills Merry Go Round Olsen, but tanks the latter's Qi punch as nothing, showing how "Les Quatres Pionniers" are far above the other automaton.
- Oh, Crap!: When she realizes that Mamba is about to spray her with corrosive blood, lethal even to high-ranked Automata.
- Pest Controller: She can manipulate the micro automatic bugs Apollions and shape them into whatever she likes.
- Sexy Jester: She's quite attractive in her first form and performs in skimpy clothes.
- Undying Loyalty: To the automaton Francine, and by extension, Éléonore.
Dottore
Voiced by: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo
The jester of the Midnight Circus, one of the first four automata, known as "Les Quatres Pionniers". He's the one who greets the Shirogane during the battle of Sahara.- Affably Evil: He's welcoming and jolly, while still being a monster. He even offers the heroes drinks and food after the first round of combat, no tricks or deceit involved.
- Combat Commentator: During the first part of the fight inside the Midnight Circus, narrating the battles and introducing the fighters in the matches..
- Death by Irony: When he's introduced, he eats some fruit to point out that automata cannot feel anything, and that he's sure that if they make Francine laugh, he'll be able to experience human feelings. When Lucille tricks him into forsaking Francine, he's allowed to feel one: despair, as he pays for his choice.
- Fat Bastard: Compared to his colleagues, he's quite portly. Like his colleagues, he has zero qualms about spreading Zonapha all over the world.
- Gratuitous French: He often translates certain words in French, calling the Midnight Circus "Le Cirque du Midnuit".
- Hero Killer: He fatally wounds Lucille before his demise.
- I Know You Know I Know: In the manga, after the recovery break, he tells Faceless that he knows they plan to stall them for enough time for a missile strike to be delivered, just to make it clear that they're going along in confidence, sure that they won't be beaten.
- Killed Off for Real: Faceless is unable to revive him after the battle of Sahara like his colleagues. His death by despair brought by forsaking Francine is probably to blame.
- Large Ham: Fitting his role, he's quite bombastic.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He dies for real when he's tricked by Lucille into forsaking Francine: having renounced his creator and only reason to exist, Dottore bleeds to death, tearfully begging for forgiveness as despair consumes him.
- Rubber Man: He can extend his arms to great lengths.
- Villainous Breakdown: When he dies after having renounced his master because of Lucille's taunts, he gets to enjoy a human feeling: despair.
- Weaponized Headgear: One of his weapons is his huge hat.
Capitan Graziano
Voiced by: Kensuke Satou
One of "Les Dernier Quatre", the four strongest automata chosen by the Big Bad to be his entertainers. Graziano is a bombastic, vain automaton who constantly talks about his lineage and valor in past battles which he couldn't have fought in. Wields a sword and can generate explosions.- Affably Evil: When Éléonore is "invited" by Faceless to visit his generals, Graziano is shown to be the most courteous, if pompous and self-absorbed, of the four.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He's the first of "Les Dernier Quatre" to spring into action in the final act.
- Cool Sword: He wields a cavalry saber named "Spezzaferro" (Iron-breaker), which he uses with great skills.
- Diagonal Cut: He and his sword are cut in half by Masaru when he decides he had enough of his bullshit.
- Flight: When dismounted by his horse or other automaton, he flies using jetpack-like propulsors in the heel of his boots. This leads to an aerial battle.
- Foil: Graziano and Dottore are both the hammy speakers of the respective groups, though while Dottore, for all his fault, was devoted to Francine, Graziano is a self-absorbed, narcissistic jerk.
- Having a Blast: Sangre y Fuego consists of a fiery explosion. In the manga though the attack is initially depicted as an electricity-imbued attack.
- Hypocrite: He constantly boasts about his exploits in ancient battles even though he's created recently and he's not even human. Lampshaded by Diamantina and Harlequin in the manga.
- Running Gag: When he gets riled up, he begins mentioning famous battles of the past he took part in, even though it's Blatant Lies as Masaru points out.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Masaru tells him to stop gloating about past exploits as traditions are something more than past actions.
- This Cannot Be!: Quite fitting for his entire character, he has a big one when Masaru cleaves him and his saber in half.
Diamantina
Voiced by: Mika Kanai
One of "Les Dernier Quatre", the four strongest automata chosen by the Big Bad to be his entertainers. A cutesy gothic lolita with a poisonous tongue and a mean streak, she fights by summoning monstrous teddy bears from under her dress.- Blood Bath: At one point, she explains that she adores taking baths in human blood.
- Establishing Character Moment: She offers Colombine a huge plate of food, then tells her to deliver it to their prisoner Éléonore, right after three of "Les Quatres Pionniers" learn that Faceless has revived them just to mock them.
- Faux Affably Evil: While she looks cutesy and claims to love fluffy things, she's also an unrepentant psycho and a full-blown bitch.
- Foil: While Diamantina and Colombine are both in love with someone who loves someone else, Diamantina is blind to the fact that Faceless won't return her affection, while Colombine is willing to accept Masaru's love for Shirogane.
- Karmic Death: She declares herself Faceless' lover and tries to make him say that he loves her more than Francine. Faceless has enough and destroys her.
- Killer Rabbit: She's a cutesy looking girl who summons teddy bear-shaped drones which can tear people and buildings to pieces.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: In the manga, she first becomes serious and angry when Masaru manages to slice her teddy bear drone in half.
- Makeup Is Evil: Compared to Colombine, she seems to wear much more lipstick, helped by her wider mouth. And her moral compass is... not found.
- Pyrrhic Victory: She kills Colombine, but Colombine destroys her self-confidence by telling her that Faceless won't love her back.
- Spanner in the Works: She boards the Space Station and spreads her explosive drones everywhere to force Faceless to love her back. When he destroys her, she manages to stab him in the abdomen and trigger the explosions, causing the collapse of the station and, indirectly, Faceless' death.
- Subordinate Excuse: She's in love with Faceless, ignoring that her feelings are one-sided.
- Yandere: She forces the man she loves to love her back under the threat of explosives.
Brighella Cavicchio da Val Brembana
Voiced by: Akio Suyama
One of "Les Dernier Quatre", the four strongest automata chosen by the Big Bad to be his entertainers. Brighella is a seemingly normal, overly serious man clad in green who loves martial arts and likes using them against strong opponents.- Bad People Abuse Animals: He's introduced sitting on the carcass of a slain elephant, claiming that he heard of the animal's strength and wanted to test it himself, only to be disappointed by the result.
- The Faceless: Aside from his eyes, the series never portrays his face.
- Fights Like a Normal: Despite being an automaton, he fights like a martial artist because he enjoys killing people with this technique. In truth, he's ashamed of his actual power, which covers his entire body in missiles.
- Foil: Brighella and Pantalone both dress in green, fight using martial arts, and are quite arrogant, though while Pantalone is a Gonk, Brighella looks more humanoid. His real power is also a long-range one, but he hates it.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: When he realizes that he cannot get past Arlecchino's Benedicamos Domine, he reveals that his real powers consist of shooting missiles from his skin.
- Macross Missile Massacre: His real power, which he dislike using: his entire skin is filled with missiles!.
- Meaningful Name: The name Brighella comes from the Italian "briga", meaning "contention, brawl", and is similar to "attaccabrighe" (lit. hellraiser, a man who willingly tries to get in a brawl). Indeed, Brighella is constantly looking for an enemy who can give him a good fight.
- One-Hit Kill: Deconstructed. He defeats Arlecchino using his missile as a last resort, but the feeling of omnipotence that comes with it leads to him trying to do the same to Narumi after he already has him on the ropes. Mentioning "missile" allows Narumi to remember the secret technique his master taught him and to hit Brighella hard enough to defeat him.
- Overly Long Name: He formally introduces himself to Narumi with his full name and origins. It doubles as
Genius Bonus, as Val Brembana is located near Bergamo, the city which is associated the most with both Brighella and Arlecchino. - Villainous Breakdown: He undergoes a cathartic breakdown when he realizes that his own hubris and overconfidence in his missile after seeing how efficient they are lead to his defeat in such a contrived way.
- Worthy Opponent: He praises Arlecchino as a good fighter, though he'd rather try against Narumi. He looks angry when Arlecchino tells him that Narumi is stronger than both.
Harlequin
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake
One of "Les Dernier Quatre", the four strongest automata chosen by the Big Bad to be his entertainers. A white-clothed, demon-like buffoon who mostly talks nonsense but is a force to be reckoned with, capable of manipulating the weather itself.- Adaptational Dumbass: His anime self is much more dumber-sounding and looking than his manga counterpart, who had a more lively personality and often kept the other three in check.
- Barehanded Blade Block: Just to show that he's mean business in the manga, during his debut he casually blocks the giant vibrating scythe of Masaru's Jack O'Lantern with one hand, without even looking.
- Berserk Button: Pantalone mocks his obsessive love for "Francine" as stupid since Francine is no more and Faceless wants Éléonore, so he can't let him have her. Harlequin becomes furious enough to finish him off.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He looks like a goofy white demon who talks nonsense and has a dumb voice. Then he starts punching holes into people and tossing lightning left, right and center.
- Child Eater: Near the end, he decides to eat a toddler to celebrate his "wedding" with Francine.
- Foil: He and Arlecchino are both named after the same mask of Commedia dell'Arte and they're pristine white. However, while Arlecchino is a somber and composed musician in a pristine dress, Harlequin is a Gonk in a mostly-white suit who can only make silly faces and talk in atrocious puns. While Arlecchino is loyal to his mistress and wants to see her smile and laugh, Harlequin only has a childish crush on her and wants her for himself.
- Guyliner: Due to his clown-like face, he wears light blue makeup on his face.
- Horned Humanoid: He has two curved yellow horns which apparently allow him to use his powers. He's defeated when the horn hit by Pantalone's blast snaps as he's trying to fry Narumi.
- Light Is Not Good: He's pearly white and blue, but is an amoral, childish brute.
- Loving a Shadow: He is in love with "Francine" only because of the artworks made by Les Quatres Pionniers.
- Only Sane Man: Surprisingly enough (if you've read the other entries), he's this to the Dernier Quatre in the manga, being the one who reminds them of their actual priorities during their debut scene.
- This Is Gonna Suck: After he realizes his horn has snapped, he looks surprisingly restrained as Narumi chops his head in half.
- Undying Loyalty: When he has visitors, he refuses to even move in their presence, because his jokes and numbers are for his master alone.
- Verbal Tic: He often makes silly oaths when he speaks.
- Villainous Breakdown: Pantalone manages to get under his skin and make him lose composure by calling his infatuation with Francine stupid.
- Weather Manipulation: He's equipped with a "Weather Manipulation Device" which allows him to summon lightning bolts even if the sky is seemingly clear. Apparently, his horns are required.
- In the original manga, it's explicitly stated that all the Dernier Quatre have such powers, as Graziano, Diamantina and Brighella can call wind, fog and rain respectively. However, Harlequin can cause any meteorological effect he wants.
Spoiler Characters
Angelina Saiga
Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara
The daughter of Lucille and the one of the first Shirogane.- Pregnant Badass: She beat Guy while in late-term pregnancy.
Shoji Saiga
Voiced by: Masahiko Tanaka
Masaru's grandfather, who gave Shirogane the task of protecting the boy. He's also the main provider of fighting puppets for the Shirogane around the world after he became one himself.- Master Swordsman: He was the master of the Miura-Ryu sword technique.
- Papa Wolf: He didn't stop at anything to protect his daughter Éléonore even if it meant he couldn't be with her as her father.
Bai Yin
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki
The older brother of Bai Jin, the creator of the Shirogane, and the husband of Francine.- Big Brother Instinct: He doted on his little brother, which could explain the latter's selfish personality.
- Driven to Suicide: He dissolved himself to create the Aqua Vitae that would turn humans into Shirogane.
- Identical Stranger: He looked exactly like Narumi even though they were not related by blood.
Bai Jin
Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa, Ai Kaneta (Bai Jin; young), Shouta Aoi (Dean Maistre; young)
The younger brother of Bai Yin. After possessing a young relative of his via Aqua Vitae, Bai Jin has lived for two centuries under three different identities: Dean Maistre, Sadayoshi Saiga, and Commander Faceless.- Abduction Is Love: He kidnapped Francine to become his wife.
- Abusive Parents: Sadayoshi used his young son Masaru as bait to carry out his plan. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.
- Adaptational Jerkass: The anime skips young Bai Jin's Jerkass Realization, making him even more selfish than in the manga.
- Alliterative Name: Sadayoshi Saiga.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Dean became childhood friends with Angelina with the intent of marrying her later. It failed.
- Consummate Liar: Dean was completely able to hide his true feelings at finding Angelina Happily Married to someone else and pregnant with her husband's child.
- Decoy Backstory: Commander Faceless claims in his dying moments that he hates automata because one of them married his childhood friend against her will and killed her when he tried to help her escape. His backstory is eventually revealed to be a complete fabrication when he comes back alive and exposes himself as the fourth and last identity of Bai Jin, the creator of all automata and the main antagonist of the series, who has survived for two centuries by possessing a young relative of his. Early in his original life, Bai Jin kidnapped Francine a day after his older brother, Bai Yin, married her. When she reunited with her husband, she killed herself because she couldn't live with her nine years of living with another man.
- Determinator: Faceless believes that he can achieve his dream to be together with Francine's identical relatives with his own sheer willpower, no matter how long it will take. Masaru responds to his insane determination by likening him to "a black sun that will not stop until it consumes everything in its path."
- Dramatic Irony: During the finale, Bai Jin tells Masaru that he'd have to meet Francine again if he went to Heaven. The reader knows that she actually killed herself believing that she'd go to Hell.
- Familial Body Snatcher: Bai Jin has survived for two centuries by implanting his memories and personality onto a young relative of his via Aqua Vitae. His ultimate plan involves doing the same to his son, Masaru, via his memory-downloading machine.
- Foil: Bai Jin is a two centuries old man who has mentally and emotionally been trapped in his past with his older brother and Francine in Prague, as shown in the space station. Masaru, the one to confront him during the finale, is a little boy who has been forced by harsh circumstances to mentally and emotionally grow up in a short time. While Bai Jin snapped when his brother married Francine, Masaru takes it in stride that Éléonore loves his big brother figure, Narumi.
- Foreshadowing:
- The manga depicts Dean as a master of altering appearances, foreshadowing the reveal that he's the same person as Commander Faceless.
- During the Interrogation arc, Shoji says Sadayoshi must be killed only after realizing his mistakes. This happens exactly in the final arc when Diamantina indirectly kills Faceless for refusing to love her and her alone after her obsessive love brought him back to sanity.
- For the Evulz: Faceless revives Arlecchino, Pantalone, and Colombine just to see their faces when they learn that their mistress has been dead all along.
- A God Am I: After reaching his Cool Airship, Faceless calls himself "Deus" and unleashes the Zonapha Syndrome on the entire world using huge clouds shaped like goddesses.
- Heel Realization: Due to Masaru and Diamantina, Faceless finally understands that just because he loves someone, it doesn't mean that person has to love him back, and that he has no right to force anyone to love him.
- Hypocrite: During the finale, Faceless claims to know "adult love." His selfish actions, as well as his obsession with Francine's lullaby, suggest otherwise.
- It's All About Me: Faceless sees nothing evil about his actions; they are simply to get what he wants.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Bai Jin is introduced in the manga during the France arc as a wrinkled old man. The China arc reveals that he used to be a beautiful young man.
- Jerkass Realization: The manga reveals during the Interrogation arc that Bai Jin realized how selfishly he acted when he told his brother he loved Francine first. This didn't stop him from snapping when he accidentally witnessed her marrying his brother.
- Letter Motif: As Commander Faceless, he is said to possess three secret weapons, all of which start with the letter "D". These are: Dismantle (near-instantly breaks down machines with his tools), Dissolve (a powerful acid), and Discern (a command phrase that makes automata recognize him as their creator and master). Narumi comments that Faceless had to stretch the last weapon's name to make it fit the theme.note
- Love Father, Love Son: He has planned to make Angelina and later Éléonore his since they're both identical relatives of his first love, Francine.
- Love Makes You Evil: He went evil when he witnessed Francine accepting Bai Yin's proposal.
- Mad Scientist: He was an expert in both Eastern and Western alchemy, then he updated with time, as seen with his personal army of androids and his memory-downloading machine.
- Moral Myopia:
- Bai Jin destroyed an entire village for taking Francine's smiles away. As he admits during the finale, however, he had already taken them away due to his own selfishness.
- Faceless has pursued the identical grandniece and great-grandniece of the original Francine for two centuries. But he has the gall to mock Arlecchino, Pantalone, and Colombine for having loyally served the fake version of the automaton Francine.
- Pre-Insanity Reveal: Bai Jin is introduced in the manga during the France arc as an insane old man who destroyed an entire village in a futile attempt to make the automaton Francine laugh. The China arc reveals that he used to be a cheerful young man before he snapped.
- Psychopathic Manchild: He acted like a spoiled child when he could not get anything he wanted, including the woman he loved. He also views everything like a toy that can be discarded when he feels bored of it.
- Significant Double Casting: Bai Jin, Dean Maistre, Sadayoshi Saiga, and Commander Faceless are all voiced by Toshio Furukawa, which foreshadows that they're the same person.
- Thanatos Gambit: Part of his plan involved copying his mind into Masaru's body, and then arrange things so that "Masaru" would kill the original, tricking Éléonore into thinking that Faceless' brain uploading scheme failed.
- Would Hit a Girl: He beat Francine unconscious when he kidnapped her and continued to severely beat her face until she gave up on trying to leave him.
- Yandere: He kidnapped Francine and kept her for 9 years in the belief that she must be his wife, not his brother's because he loved her first. He created an automaton in her image after her death but abandoned the automaton when he could not make her laugh despite the great lengths he went to. After he took over his young relative's body, he schemed to have Angelina and later Éléonore, both of whom were identical relatives of Francine.
Francine (The Original)
Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara
A poor French woman with the heart and beauty of an angel. She was married to Bai Yin for only a single day before Bai Jin kidnapped him.- All-Loving Hero: She raised orphans and gave the poor food while she was starving herself. She was so kind and loving that the people in the slum called her Lady Francine out of respect.
- Defiled Forever: She lived with Bai Jin against her will (at least at first) for 9 years, and whether she actually had sexual contact with him during those years or not, she believed that she didn't deserve her husband anymore. This is hardly strange for such a virtuous woman in old times.
- Driven to Suicide: She had become something of a Death Seeker during her 9 years of living with Bai Jin due to her belief that she was Defiled Forever and didn't deserve her husband anymore. She didn't kill herself immediately only because she wanted to see Bai Yin again. When he finally came and promised to give her a longer life, she burned herself to death. There is also the possibility that she wanted to prevent her illness from spreading to the villagers.
- Friend to All Children: She adopted orphans and raised them as her own.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: She was so good and pure that she told Bai Yin not to hate Bai Jin even though Bai Jin kidnapped her and abused her for 9 years.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: During the battle of Sahara, Almendra reveals to Lucille that Lucille and Angelina are the niece and grandniece of the original Francine.
- Significant Double Casting: Francine, the automata made in her image, Shirogane/Éléonore, and Angelina are all voiced by Megumi Hayashibara. Éléonore and Angelina are eventually revealed to be Francine's identical great-grandniece and grandniece respectively.
