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Here are the chracter features in the anime/manga series Linebarrels of Iron. Beware of spoilers.

Contributions are most welcome.

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Juda Corporation

    Koichi Hayase 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_1.jpg
Koichi during middle school in the manga
Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese) and Josh Grelle (English)

The Hero of the story, a bullied 14-year old kid who becomes Linebarrel's Factor.


  • Accidental Pervert: In the anime, he repeatedly finds himself in awkward situations with Emi.
  • Break the Haughty: After becoming Linebarrel's Factor, he starts acting like he is the most awesome dude to ever live. Then Reiji kicks him down hard. And after that, his best friend dies. Boy, does he gets broken.
  • Butt-Monkey: Mostly when things calm down for a while. Being good at fighting isn't the same thing as being good at avoiding being hit by slapstick.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: He can never be honest with his feelings for Emi.
  • Clueless Chick-Magnet: The guy has three beautiful girls all after him... and yet, he only appears to be romantically interested in Emi.
  • Declaration of Protection: Towards Emi, mostly. But despite not noticing the other girls' crushes, he's still quite protective towards all of them.
  • First-Episode Resurrection: In the anime. He seemed to have survived having a giant robot falling on him, but as it turns out, he actually died and was resurrected by the robot.
  • The Hero: Is clearly this among JUDA after his character development with his concern for allies and innocents getting the respect of his allies and even Reiji comes to see him as one, particularly when he sets up Kiriyama to fight "a real hero". His absence during the timeskip marks some dark moments for the cast
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: The main weapons of Linebarrel being two Katanas.
  • Hot-Blooded: In classical mecha hero fashion, Koichi loves to yell as he fights bad guys.
  • Idiot Hero: He may have learnt how to be responsible while fighting, but that doesn't mean he became smarter about everything.
  • Jerkass: Before Character Development, he fought purely for his ego while taking down bullies just to establish himself as the new top of the pyramid.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After Character Development. He is still abrasive, but now he is focused on actually protecting the innocent and his friends.
  • Jumped at the Call: Deconstructed. It's more for the sake of his ego than anything, and his behaviour in his first battles caused lots of property damage, as he lashes out towards anyone.
  • The Mentor: To Miu in the manga. After seeing her in action he soon realizes he has his work cut out for him and his efforts ultimately fail due to vanishing during the timeskip, where things go to hell for her
  • My God, What Have I Done?: After Yajima dies and he is forced to realize how irresponsible his behaviour so far had been.
  • Ordinary High-School Student: At the start of the anime, before meeting Linebarrel and Emi. Not so much in the manga, where said meeting happened years before, meaning he is already bordeline superhuman in the first chapter.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: To Kato and, in the anime, to Masaki, tearing down their justifications for their numerous crimes.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: For the most part he just uses Linebarrel's extreme power to win. Although he can hardly be called a poor fighter, compared to Reiji's skillful swordsmanship he basically just wacks people with his swords as hard as he can and can't really use the Executor as anything other than a wide area single shot blast. He pretty much could not beat Reiji straight up, without using modes B and C to overpower him. In the manga he's shown to be a flat out terrible pilot if he can't use Linebarrel. In one fight he needs to use a Jinrai (a Mass produced Arma that can match a Machina in the right hands), and he does more damage to the enemy by jumping out and punching it with his Factor enhanced strength than the Jinrai's weapons. He gets better after dealing with Amagatsu as he's shown to be able to use Linebarrel better and access more of its powers.
    • This is also true of him outside of the suit as while his Factor-enhanced strength is enough against most people, against a truly skilled fighter like Domyouji, his blows are dodged quite easily.
  • Unstoppable Rage: In response to Yajima's death. And, towards the end of the anime, in response to Emi's.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: He receives quite a lot of these after his horrible first attempts at piloting Linebarrel. The lesson does sticks, but it takes a while.

    Emi Kizaki 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_5.jpg
Emi during middle school in the manga
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese) and Alexis Tipton (English)

A mysterious girl of about 14, who gives Koichi the power to use Linebarrel.


  • Badass Adorable: A sweet girl who cares about her friends & Hayase who also happens to be an even more experienced Factor than the hero, not to mention being the 2nd Factor of Linebarrel.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: Koichi's feelins for her are mutual. So is his inability to be honest with them.
  • Catchphrase: "You're the worst!" / "You make me sick!"
  • Chainsaw Good: Episode 6, though it's Played for Laughs. She doesn't seem to realize the magic she sees in TV are just tricks.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: She's just as clingy and jealous as Risako. She just does a (slightly) better job at hiding it.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: In the first few episodes, when she is still getting used to being in this world without any memories.
  • Fish out of Water: "What's a Christmas party?" However in the Manga, she's aware of things like that, due to living in this era longer.
  • It's All My Fault: Mostly in Episode 15, as she thinks that it's her fault if Juda has been scattered and people are dying to protect her.
  • Naked on Arrival: She is naked inside Linebarrel when she first arrives, albeit only in the anime.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Around 650+ years old, thanks to her being a Factor.
  • Tsundere: Is quite cold to Koichi at first because he made a terrible first impression. She falls for him later on, but reamins ouwardly cold because she Cannot Spit It Out.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Post timeskip she's sporting a shorter haircut, calling herself a "heroine of justice" and piloting Katou's Tsukyomi Arma.

    Reiji Moritsugu 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_2.jpg
Moritsugu in the manga
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese) and J. Michael Tatum (English)

25-year-old Commander of JUDA's Special Task Force and Vardant's Factor.


  • The Ace: In the manga, Hayase even stated that Moritsugu is the role model the he wants to become.
  • Ace Pilot: The best Machina pilot at the start of the story. He humiliates Koichi in their first battle, despite Linebarrel being much better than your average Machina.
  • Blood Knight: As a kid he would used to get into fights under the pretext of "being an ally of justice". There are some hints that he still has this tendency, and has simply gotten better at controlling it.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: His first two fights with Koichi consist of nothing but him beating the crap out of the poor kid. However, he gets on the receiving side of this trope in the anime when Emi gets in Linebarrel's cockpit.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: He grew up being raised by his sister and upon finding out he can't feel pain, started getting into fights. This led to him getting in trouble with the law and later, to his sister's death.
  • Fake Defector: The details differ between the anime and the manga, but in both cases his betrayal was just a way of putting JUDA in a better positions.
  • Feel No Pain: Was born without the ability to feel pain. He uses this to his favor during fights, which disturbs his companions.
  • Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Because of his past, he has trouble empathizing. In both stories, Kouichi remedies that, though Character Development goes further in the manga.
  • Genius Bruiser: He's well educated about things, and quite a mastermind in the manga.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: One of Verdant's eyes appears damaged and when Koichi attempts to attack him from his "blind side", Reiji has the eye heal at that moment.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Very harsh even to the people on his own side, but that harshness is born out of a genuine desire to save the world, and he can become friendly given enough time.
  • Mundane Made Awesome: In the manga, he makes having a bunch of bags along his arms look quite dramatic. Koichi attempts to do the same and fails.
  • Stoic Spectacles: The only Factor in JUDA that uses glasses, and far less emotional than his friends.
  • Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Dark hair, one of the tallest characters among the heroes, and he is not afraid to criticize others.

    Kunio Ishigami 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_11.jpg
Ishigami in the manga
Voiced by: Joji Nakata (Japanese) and Barry Yandell (English)

An eccentric old man and CEO of the JUDA company.


  • Big Good: Leader of the heroic team, and the one with a plan to save the world.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Yes, the perverted guy who likes pranking people is the boss of a world-protecting organization, why do you ask?
  • Cool Old Guy: Not only is he leading an effort to protect humanity, he also does his best to raise Koichi into a better person who can really become a hero.
  • Defector from Decadence: Defected from the Katou Organization to look for a more peaceful way to save humanity.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the manga, he closes the gate to the other world the Human-Machina were trying to use to invade at the cost of his own life.
  • It Amused Me: The reason for many of his pranks. They don't help saving the world, but they are hilarious... to him.
  • Killed Off for Real: In anime, he seems to have been killed by Reiji, but in reality his mind was transferred to the computers of JUDA. However, he dies for real together with Katou during the final battle in a Heroic Sacrifice, which mirrors his death in the manga.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Around 70+ years old in the manga, old enough to have participated in World War II. This is because he is the Factor of Juda in the manga.
  • Retired Badass: In the manga, he is a former soldier who fought in World War II and became the Factor of Juda while he was still working with Katou. He briefly comes out of retirement as a Factor before his death.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: A large part of this behavior is an act in the manga, so people won't suspect of how much he truly knows. After a while though, they do start to catch up.
  • Sacrificial Lion: Again, in the anime. His death marks the point where things get really serious.

    Yui Ogawa 
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese) and Tiffany Grant (English)

Ishigami's 26-year-old secretery.


  • Beware the Nice Ones: She's the one who punishes Ishigami for his pranks going too far.
  • Team Mom: Takes care of the young Factors as if they were her own children.

    Satoru Yamashita 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_3_1.jpg
Yamashita in the manga
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese) and Mary Morgan (English)

A 16-year-old member of the JUDA STF and Factor of Hind-Kind


  • Berserk Button: Don't you dare suggest Moritsugu-senpai is a traitor! Or insult Hind-Kind in any way.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: It doesn't help that he's voiced by women.
  • Hero-Worshipper: For Reiji. So of course the poor kid goes in a complete Heroic BSoD when Reiji turns traitor.
  • Heroic BSoD: In addition to the above moment he suffers one upon finding out in taking down Apparition, he killed someone. Also doubles as Break the Haughty as before hand, he was bragging about being his machina's killing factor. Eventually recovers from it with some advice.
  • Nice Guy: After recovering from his Heroic BSoD, he becomes a lot more friendly and cooperative.

    Miu Kujou 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_12.jpg
Miu in the manga
Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese) and Monica Rial (English)

A 16-year-old girl who is the Factor of Painkiller. In the anime, she is already a member of JUDA, whilst in the manga, she is an idol singer, who decided to join in the middle part of the storyline after Koichi saves her.


  • Action Girl: More so in the manga as Painkiller's far more combat able in it.
  • Adaptational Heroism: Her anime self doesn't have crippling mental issues like her manga counterpart, so she gets to be a straightforward, unambiguous heroine.
  • Badass Adorable: In the anime, she is portrayed as one of the cuter and more innocent girls in the cast, despite being a Factor from day one.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: In the manga, she can be downright brutal when pushed too far, which shocks those who dismissed her due to being an idol.
  • Broken Bird: She was already being bullied to the point of committing suicide, but after the timeskip she gets fired from her job as an idol singer because the factors joined with Katou, her fans turn on her, and her wanting to kill them ended up turning Deceive into a humanioid, leading to Izuna's death.
  • Canon Immigrant: Subverted. She was originally made for the manga, but the anime decided to introduce her much much earlier, using only the bare-bone early manga design notes as a base.
  • Decapitation Presentation: In the manga, her head is the only thing left after Sawatari is done with her.
  • Heroic BSoD: In the anime, after Masaki gives her a nasty "The Reason You Suck" Speech, telling her that she's too weak to be a Factor.
    • She fakes one in the manga in her first fight before revealing that this version of Painkiller uses a pair of Attack Drone mechanical beasts.
    • She gets a real one every time she is faced with bullies or angry fans; especially after the time skip, which starts a nasty series of events
  • Hopeless Suitor: Towards Koichi. While he does notes Risako's feelings for him after a long while, he never figures out Miu was also interested in him.
  • Interrupted Suicide: In the manga, she was ready to jump off a building, until Koichi saw her and talked her out of it.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the manga, she is killed by Sawatari.
  • Nice Girl: The anime portrays her as a very kind, polite girl, in contrast to the manga.
  • Rescue Romance: About the one thing her anime self and manga self have in common is her falling in love with Koichi after he saved her (though in different ways).
  • Spared by the Adaptation: She gets to live in the anime, as it was made before her death in the manga.
  • Start of Darkness: Izuna's death in the manga completely breaks her, making her a downright villain until Sawatari gives a permanent end to her.
  • Yandere: Her manga version has so many issues, Painkiller made her its factor believing she was in risk of dying purely from her mental state. She finally snaps after Kouichi disappears when the Time Skip happens.

    Shizuna and Izuna Endou 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_4.jpg
Izuna and Shizuna in the manga

A pair 14-year-old twins who are Factors for Deceive.


  • Brother–Sister Team: The Deceive is the first Mecha we see that is piloted by more than one person. In this case, a pair of siblings.
  • Half-Identical Twins: Lampshaded by Koichi, who gives Shizuna a hair clip to make it easier to tell the twins apart.
  • Parental Abandonment: Their father used them as guinea pigs to find out how to make Factors for the Machina.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Shizuna is Hot-Blooded and impulsive. Izuna is calm and meek.
  • Self-Made Orphan: The Deceive killed the father of the twins because it noticed Izuna's fear that his father would kill him and his desire to get rid of him first. Except the desire to murder their father actually came from Shizuna, and then got amplified by Izuna's powers.

Shizuna

Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese) and Cherami Leigh (English)

Izuna's loud and energetic older twin sister and a member of JUDA. She controls Deceive's movements.


  • Action Girl: The first female pilot we meet in the manga (in the anime, that's Miu).
  • Berserk Button: Do not call her "bobcut".
  • Butt-Monkey: Whenever the mood of the show turns comedic, it's often at her expense.
  • Genki Girl: Carries with her during her daily life about the same energy she has when fighting.
  • Hot-Blooded: At some points it looks like she is competing with Koichi over who can scream the loudest.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Beneath all that arrogance and bluster, Shizuna is actually a very warm person.
  • Important Hair Accessory: Actually invoked when Koichi gives her his necktie holder as an hairpin. Shizuna's response is... quite spectacular. This also sets her apart from her brother easier. Notably, she stops wearing it once she becomes Domyouji's co-pilot in the manga, signifying the end of her Betty and Veronica choice.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: When the Deceive is destroyed after the time-skip, she becomes the pilot of the new Deceive V, a Kiriyama-made Arma mimicking the functionality of the original Machina, with Domyouji taking Izuna's place as her co-pilot.
  • Tsundere: Bonafide Type A, being loud and rude while holding a lot of warmth inside.

Izuna

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese) and Aaron Dismuke (English)

Shizuna's more reserved younger twin brother, also with JUDA. He controls Deceive's Never Crack cables.


  • Ax-Crazy: In the anime, when trying to link with Central's Hive Mind.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: After all, he's the one who controls the Deceive's Nerve Crack cables, giving nightmares to his enemies.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: It's very easy to mistake him for his sister.
  • Enfant Terrible: His father believed he was this due to his supernatural powers, but that was not the case.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: After the timeskip, he gets a haircut that finally sets him aside from his sister. And makes him look similar to how Masaki looks post-timeskip.
  • Killed Off for Real: After the tme-skip in the manga, Miu has to kill him to stop Deceive from rampaging.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Thanks to Deceive's ability he doesn't remember his powers or how his father died.
  • Nice Guy: Contrasting with his sister, Izuna never stops being polite and gentle with everyone.
  • Patricide: Accidentally got Deceive to kill his father in the process of making him a Factor.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: He lives in the anime, but not in the manga, likely because he was still alive in the latter when the anime was made.
  • Teen Genius: He does work with the Juda scientific personnel, after all. Though Rachel still outclasses him.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: He's a Seer but the fact that he can only see bad futures seems to have affect him mentally. Deceive disabled this ability allowing him to live rather normally.

    Soubi Nakajima 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_6.jpg
Soubi in the manga
Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese) and Ian Sinclair (English)

17-year-old Factor of Talisman whose story (and indeed, personality itself) depends on the medium. In the manga, he is actually the 72-year old leader of his village (having stopped aging at 17 due to being a Factor), who eventually decides to join JUDA's Special Task Force. In the anime, he is the captain of Katou's 2nd Squad in place of the manga-exclusive Sanada, who loves inflicting pain on others.


  • Adaptational Villainy: In the anime, not only is he with Katou, but also has a sadistic personality, contrasting his Manga self, who joins JUDA and is a more pacifistic sort.
  • Death by Adaptation: The final difference between his manga and anime selves. His heroic manga version lives, while his villainous anime version dies.
  • Martial Pacifist: In the manga. He has a distaste for combat, but if he must fight to protect something, he will do so to fullest of his abilities
  • Mayfly–December Romance: With his wife Kaoru. When the heroes meet them, their first thought is that Kaoru is his grandma.
  • Really 700 Years Old: In the manga, he is revealed to be over 70 years old, and even that is only counting from the moment he was found as a baby. Later reveals imply he was cryogenically preserved for centuries inside Talisman.
  • The Rival: In the anime, he's sort of one to Miu... or at least, he tends to single her out in battle. Miu doesn't reciprocate the enmity.
  • Shock and Awe: His Talisman's main weapon is an electrified lance.
  • Sixth Ranger: In the manga, he joins JUDA after the main cast has been presented.
  • Who Wants to Live Forever?: Again, in the manga. Mostly because it's what led to his Mayfly–December Romance.

    Rachel Calvin 
Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese) and Tia Ballard (English)

JUDA's 12 year old Chief of Research and Development. She mainly handles the Machina's maintainance.


  • Adorably Precocious Child: Her attempts to look like she is much more mature than her peers paradoxically makes her look more childish, and it's adorable.
  • Canon Immigrant: Subverted, along with Miu. The anime was just using things planned to show up in the manga much earlier.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Episode 25 is all about her. The Manga has a short extra chapter for the same effect.
  • Genki Girl: Very energetic and loud, all the time.
  • Girlish Pigtails: She doesn't seem to notice her hairstyle gts in the way of her attempts to look more mature.
  • Improbable Age: 12 years old and already the best person in the world when it comes to researching the Machinas and their Factors.
  • Insufferable Genius: She will make you aware that she is a genius, no matter what you say.
  • Little Miss Snarker: Likes to snark at others, likely to make herself look smarter than them.

Katou Organization

    Hisataka Katou 
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese) and Todd Haberkorn (English)

Terror syndicate Katou Organization's mysterious leader. He pilots the Arma Tsukuyomi. Factor of the Shangri-La.


  • Affably Evil: Always polite and respectful, even to a bitter enemy.
  • Anti-Villain: He really is trying to save humanity, even if his methods require a lot of sacrifices to achieve that.
  • Big Bad: The main antagonist of the series, being the leader of the organization responsible for all the problems the heroes face. Until it's revealed he was trying to stop the real villain all along.
  • Big Good: After Ishigami's death, he takes over his position as the leader of the good guys.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: A villainous example, being a bit less eccentric than Ishigami, but nonetheless showing very odd behaviour.
  • The Chessmaster: He has several complex plans that allow him to make up some profit even after JUDA ruins the apperent plan A.
  • Cool Ship: The Shangri-La is pretty much a huge spaceship.
  • Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: And all things considered, it's likely his job really doesn't give him much time to sleep.
  • Easily Forgiven: Subverted in the anime, as Koichi does not forgive him for his crimes, but accepts to put his resentment aside and work with him for the greater good. Played straight in the manga, where Koichi does forgive him, and even offers to help him. Admittedly, his goals in the manga are different from the anime.
  • Heel–Face Turn: In the manga, he decides to try things the way his old friend Ishigami did, and leads the rest of his organization with the members of JUDA.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the anime, to defeat Central in the finale.
  • Killed Off for Real: Again, only in the anime, where he dies in the final battle.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Anime-only to Emi, revealing himself to be her brother. In the manga, he was her father's live-in assistant, though it is mentioned that a young Emi did see him as a brother of sorts (as well as considered part of the family) with the feeling being somewhat mutual.
  • Non-Action Guy: Doesn't get into fights personally in the anime. The manga version is a different story.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: He is the Big Bad of the series and he has red eyes.
  • Self-Made Orphan: At Amagatsus' request, no less.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the anime, he wants to save the Earth from the other world's invasion by stirring people's imagination. In the manga, he wants to take over the world to ensure it would never go to a direction that would make the Human-Machina decide to invade. The means he uses to achieve either of those goals, though, are quite debatable.

    Masaki Sugiwara 
Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (Japanese) and Tony Patterson (English)

Factor of Glein-Neidr, and, by extention, Naked, and Captain of Katou's 1st Squad.


  • Adaptational Badass: Naked is made even stronger in the anime, as it is now the last enemy of the show. In particular, it gets the same teleportation Linebarrel has, which wasn't part of its skillset in the manga.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Pulls a Heel–Face Turn in the manga, while in the anime he is The Dragon to the real villain and Koichi's final enemy.
  • Breaking Speech: He becomes fond of these as the ending of the anime comes close. They work on Miu but not on Koichi.
  • Death by Adaptation: Since his anime self is the Final Boss and a much more villainous character, he doesn't get to survive the final battle like his manga self did.
  • The Dragon: To Katou in the manga. In the anime, he acts like he is, when in reality, he is this to Central.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: He gets a haircut after the manga's timeskip, signifying his coming to terms with his Parental Abandonment.
  • Heel–Face Turn:In the manga, with the rest of the Katou Organization.
  • Inhuman Eye Concealers: Justified in the anime. He needs bangs to hide his cybernetic eye, which would reveal that he's a Machina Human. The manga lacks a pragmatic explanation.
  • Never Got to Say Goodbye: The reason why he's so pissed off with Ishigami in the manga; he literally treated him like his own father, and is justifiably upset when he left them with no explanation immediately after mounting Juda.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: He's the top ranking captain of the Kato Organization, and also the best pilot.
  • Superpower Lottery: One of the biggest technological advantages of the Machinae is that they have beam weaponry. Glein Nieder can do a Beam Spam and has a special barrier against beams. Even Linebarrel can't dent it without help.

    Yasosuke Sanada 

Captain of Katou's 2nd Squad. An old man who appears only the manga. He pilots the custom Arma, Tsuranagi.


    Demitri 
Voiced by: Tomoyuki Shimura (Japanese) and Kent Williams (English)

31-year-old captain of Katou's 3rd Squad. He pilots the custom Arma, Kagutsuchi.


    Takuro Sawatari 
Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (Japanese) and Bryan Massey (English)

22-year-old captain of Katou's 4th Squad. Pilots the custom Arma, Idaten.


  • Badass Normal: Like most members of the Katou Organization, he is not a Factor.
  • Blood Knight: Among the captains, he is always the happiest to fight and destroy.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: In the manga, once he gets into Lostbarrel, becoming a Factor.
  • Evil Counterpart: Lostbarrel to Linebarrel. Practically identical, but has one key feature different: unlike Linebarrel, Lostbarrel uses dual laser blades.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: In the manga, he stops spiking his hair up after Demitri's death, ultimately signifying being no longer faithful to Katou
  • Hot-Blooded: Complete with Hot Blooded Sideburns. That is until Dimitri is killed off in the manga, which changes his disposition significantly
  • Jerkass: He is arrogant, quick to insult his foes, and has no empathy towards his victims.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Eventually betrays Katou, and becomes the Factor of the last Machina that was kept hidden, Lostbarrel.
  • Pet the Dog: His interactions with Demitri (and Soubi in the anime) bring out his better side.
  • Spanner in the Works: Once he gains Lostbarrel, he goes rogue as the rest of Katou Organization merges with JUDA. He works with criminal groups, he works with some of the Human-Machina factions, he even helps Kouichi out in a fight or two. He's also the one who puts down Miu when she goes crazy.
    • The moment he recognizes Katou's new Jinrai pilots as being Demitri's killers could be counted as a minor one as his vengeance disrupts the plan for the battle to some degree.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: He survives the final battle in the anime, where he sacrificed himself to ensure the heroes would win in the manga.
  • Villainous Friendship: With Soubi in the anime, and with Demitri in both continuities.
  • Wild Card: In the manga, after his betrayal of Katou, he goes about working for a number of other groups, but all that is known is that he has Hayase on his list of targets

    Matt Reznor 

Captain of Katou's 5th Squad who, like Sanada, only appears in the manga. He pilots the custom Arma, Kagaseo.


  • Heel–Face Turn: With the rest of the Katou Organization.
  • Humongous Mecha: He pilots a massive arma in Katou's last major battle before the merger. Unfortunately for him, his opponent is Reiji, who disables it rather easily.

    Jack Smith 
Voiced by: Yoshikazu Sato (Japanese), Kenji Nomura (Super Robot Wars UX) and Bob Carter (English)

32-year-old captain of Katou's 6th Squad. A samurai who needs to no Arma to fight: his body literally is an Arma!


  • Anti-Villain: He is never shown doing anything bad that is not an order from above, and also has a sense of honor.
  • Book Dumb: While he's certainly not stupid, and even seems to be well learned, a few scenes in the manga suggest he's barely literate in the Japanese language, though he speaks it just fine. Seeing as he's clearly a western man, that's understandable.
  • The Comically Serious: He has quite an reaction to someone drinking his bottle of milk in the manga after Katou and JUDA join forces
  • Heel–Face Turn: In the anime, motivated by his desire to fight Reiji, and in the manga, when Katou and JUDA joined together.
  • Hollywood Cyborg: It's never explained how exactly he turned his body into a miniaturized Mecha.
  • Know When to Fold Them: In the manga, upon seeing Reiji rather easily taking down Reznor's massive arma, he gives up without fighting anymore
  • Noble Demon: Has a sense of honor that leads him to seek fair fights with his rivals.
  • The Rival: Considers himself to be Reiji's.
  • Robosexual: He is a cyborg and, in the anime, he develops a crush on Risako.
  • Scary Black Man: He looks the part, but since he is a Noble Demon, it's likely just to indicate he is one of the few foreigners in the series.

    Yurianne Faithful 
Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese) and Michele Specht (English)

27-year-old captain of Katou's 7th squad. She pilots the custom Arma, Tsubakihime.


  • Badass Normal: Can fight against with the best of the Machina in a technically weaker machine.
  • Best Beer Ever: During a rare moment of peace for the Katou Organization in the anime.
  • Chainsaw Good: Her Arma, the Tsubaki-Hime, has a couple of arm-mounted buzzsaws.
  • Dark Action Girl: A seductive, but also highly competent female antagonist. She can fight the main hero on equal grounds.
  • Evil Redhead: Has bright red hair and is a villain working for Katou Until her Heel–Face Turn.
  • Flash Step: Her arma is able to do this, being the main arma to do so (as it's seen on Machinae like Linebarrel and Naked)
  • High-Heel–Face Turn: In the manga, she is revealed to be working for Reiji after Kiriyama is dealt with. This makes her both the only female captain among the Katou Organization, and the first to join the heroes. Though it turns out to be a moot point since the entire organization pulls a Heel–Face Turn later.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Between her large chest and sultry demeanor, she's got sex appeal down pat.
  • Mysterious Woman: For a while in the manga, it's left unclear who she is truly helping. She ultimately goes with Reiji.
  • Spanner in the Works: In the manga, she ends up tossing a few small wrenches into Reiji's plans for Kiriyama by sharing files with Hayase, causing Kiriyama to accelerate his timetable when he finds out. This is somewhat offset by the fact doing so put Hayase on the same page as Reiji quickly, enabling them to save the day.
  • The Tease: Near the end of the manga's first arc, when Jack is mad at Koichi for drinking his milk, she says "If you're that thirsty, you'll have to settle for mine."
  • The Vamp: Just ask Izuna... or in the manga Hayase, causing her to lend assistance in a couple of cases (overlapping with Friendly Enemy).

    Riku Ousei 
Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi (Japanese) and Sonny Strait (English)

Psycho captain of Katou's 8th squad. He pilots the custom Arma, Yaoyorozu.


  • Berserk Button: Don't make fun of his funny appearence... or, worse yet, say that he lacks imagination.
  • Fat Bastard: The worst of the captains, and also the fattest.
  • For the Evulz: He wants to show the world his capacity for imagination - which translates to blowing up major cities and killing as many people as he can.
  • Gonk: His design is downright cartoonish compared to the rest of the cast.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the manga after being defeated by Emi as Satawari calls him saying that he's stepped out of line by Katou's standards right before Satawari's men finish him off. Becomes real clear once it's revealed that Emi is like a little sister to Katou.
  • Mad Bomber: Even if it was because of orders, he is clearly having the time of his life blowing up places where civilians gather.
  • More Despicable Minion: His boss is Affably Evil and does want to save the Earth. Riku is a Mad Bomber who just likes to blow up innocent people for his own amusement.
  • The Napoleon: He is very small, but his ego is bigger than the Mecha he pilots.
  • Smug Snake: Hu pulls some clever tricks in his battle with Koichi and assumes he is invincible. He is quickly proven wrong.
  • The Sociopath: God, yes. He is so comfortable killing people in mass he even snacks while doing so!
  • Villainous Breakdown: In the manga, he gets a pretty huge one when Kouichi presses his Berserk Button. And an even bigger one when Emi defeats him in a Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • Villainous Glutton: Even when he's fighting Kouichi.

Others

    Risako Niiyama 
Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya (Japanese) and Carrie Savage (English)

Childhood Friend to Koichi and Yajima, who's had a crush on the former for long time.


  • Ascended Extra: She is demoted to minor character in the manga as soon as Koichi's development into a more heroic figure is finished and the plot becomes more serious. In the anime, she sticks around for much longer, as there are more breaks between fights and the Love Triangle between her, Koichi and Emi is taken more seriously.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: She has had a crush on Koichi for long time. Koichi cares a lot about her, but not the way she wanted. After the Time Skip, we find out she started going out with their other Childhood Friend, Yajima.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Anime only, she's more patient in the manga.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Ultimately accepts that Koichi doesn't love her back.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: For most of the series, she has no idea what Koichi's true job at JUDA is. And is rather pissed about it when she realizes he has a secret.
  • Misery Poker: In the manga, she has this going with fellow Locked Out of the Loop Furuya, though it's mostly Played for Laughs.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: In the manga, her role in the story declines to this in the second half, where things get really serious and the cast start spending less time at home or school.
  • Tsundere: She's a Type B in the anime - mostly sweet and nice, but don't make her angry.

    Hideaki Yajima 

Voiced by: Go Shinomiya (Japanese) and Joel McDonald (English)

Childhood Friend of Koichi and Risako, who's protected the former from bullies since they were kids. His death was a major turning point for Koichi.


  • Adaptational Villainy: In the anime, he initially joins Katou while in the manga he's been with JUDA for a while operating in other areas until his return.
  • Back from the Dead: He eventually comes back to life as the Factor to the Machina Apparition, and eventually joins up with his best friend.
  • Bully Hunter: He's the one who protected Kouichi from bullies when they were little. Deconstructed in the anime, as he was doing that mostly to look good in Risako's eyes.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: He has a crush on Risako. While it was unrequited in the anime, the two do start dating in the manga after the Time Skip.
  • Friendly Sniper: The Apparition is a Machina specialized in sniping from afar. In spite of that, Yajima is just as friendly after coming back as he was before.
  • The Gwen Stacy: A rare male example. His death is what put Koichi in the road to become a true hero.
  • Last-Name Basis: He is almost always referred to as Yajima.

    Makoto Domyouji 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_14.jpg
Domyouji as a pilot in the manga
Voiced by: Jun Konno (Japanese) and Jerry Jewell (English)

A student at Koichi's school who is good at fighting and loves to flirt with cute girls. After being amazed at Linebarrel, he decides to join Hayase's group of friends (dragging along Furuya, who used to bully Koichi), dubbing them the "Hayase Corps." Eventually pilots a custom Jin-Rai (a production model machine created by Kiriyama Heavy Industries intended to replace Arma, and possibly, JUDA's machina) and joins up the members of JUDA.


  • Ace Pilot: He's the best non-Factor pilot in the story, second only to Sawatari. And since Sawatari becomes a Factor later, that makes him the top ace among the purely human characters.
  • Anime Hair: It's so spiky, one could almost mistake him for the main character.
  • Badass Biker: Though the bike is borrowed from his dad...
  • Badass Normal: Defeated an enhanced Kouichi without breaking a sweat. And proves able to keep up with Machina easily in a Jinrai.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: In the anime, in which he even tells Koichi where there is a good place to peek on the girls in school.
  • Hilariously Abusive Childhood:His father has just as much of a stereotypical deliquent personality as he does, which is likely how he got it in first place.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Looks like the usual deliquent at first glance, but turns out to have a sense of justice and is very loyal to his friends.
  • Large Ham: While he is not childish about it like Koichi was, he still loves his heroic theatrics.
  • Last-Name Basis: Nobody ever calls him by his first name.
  • Lonely Together: In the manga, he eventually hooks up with Shizuna, becoming the co-pilot to Deceive V, after she loses her brother.
  • Preacher's Kid: His father is a priest. He lives in a temple, takes good care of Yajima's grave, which is what makes them good friends and knows a ton of mythology and lore.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Only in regards to Factors and mecha combat. Compared to most people his age, he's both Strong AND Skilled.

    Eiji Kiriyama 
Voiced by: Show Hayami (Japanese) and Vic Mignogna (English)

Director of Kiriyama Heavy Industries, who as known Reiji since they were kids. He is the Factor of Pretender.


  • Adaptational Villainy: While his initial actions are roughly the same, his manga self gets to pull a Heel–Face Turn while his anime self dies a villain.
  • The Atoner: In the manga, he came back and joined forces with the heroes to atone for his past actions.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: He thinks he can take over Japan and defeat both Katou adn Juda, but he is played like a fiddle by Reiji and his father. In the anime, he is even reduced to a pawn for Katou to use.
  • Death by Adaptation: The anime has him die, be brought back as a Machina-Human, and then killed again. He survived in the manga, albeit after a really close call.
  • Expy: Comes off as one of Balzac after his return with his more rugged appearance and atoning tendencies.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Has a skin-deep facade of politeness that quickly crumbles apart once it seems his plan are working.
  • Heel–Face Turn: In the manga, he ends up joining the heroes after some offscreen character development to make up for all he's done.
  • Mirror Character: Eiji is childish, arrogant and has a pathological need to be always right: pretty much how Koichi might have turned out had he not realized his mistakes.
  • Redemption Equals Death: What his fate would've been in the manga had Koichi not saved him at the last second. It's implied he was intentionally seeking this outcome.
  • Smug Snake: In pretty much every scene he is in, he is rubbing his assumed superiority in everyone's faces. Only a few truly take him seriously, because the ones in the known are aware that he isn't half the threat he thinks he is.

    Amagatsu Kizaki 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_13.jpg
Amagatsu with young Emi in the manga
Voiced by: Masahiko Tanaka (Japanese), John Swasey (English)

Emi's father and Katou's master. The creator of Machina and nanomachines, he was the original Factor for Linebarrel, and created the current Linebarrel and Lostbarrel.


  • Brain Uploading: He's Linebarrel's AI. His actual physical brain is its CPU.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Like Emi and Katou, he has been alive for over 600 years. Although it came with a price in his case...
  • Take Up My Sword: He passes along his mission along with full control of Linebarrel to Hayase before somehow killing himself.
  • Walking Spoiler: Any information about him, espcially in the manga, is tied to major revelations.

    SPOILER CHARACTER FOR THE ANIME 

CENTRAL


  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: They were seen as the next "logical" step in human evolution. What hapens after humanity has left machines to take care of everything? They join the machine, in body and mind!
  • Big Bad: Their Hive Mind collectively serves the role of true villain at the end of the anime.
  • Hive Mind: "CENTRAL" is pretty much a computer server that has digitalized the minds of nearly every human from an Earth from another dimension within it.
  • You Will Be Assimilated: They plan to invade another Earth to forcefully get their inhabitants to join their Hive Mind.

    SPOILER CHARACTERS FOR THE MANGA 

Human Machina

Ohba Maxi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linebarrel_manga_21.jpg

A Humanoid-type Human-Machina with the appearance of a teenage Japanese girl, she starts out fighting the Human-Machina on her own, before joining Juda because of her attraction to Moritsugu. Being a Machina herself, she does not pilot one, but an exo-skeleton called Ravbarrel.


  • Artificial Human: The first Human-Machina seen that has taken a perfect human appearence, instead of simply being a self-aware robot.
  • Badass Adorable: Looks and act like a typical teenage girl, but is just as strong as the Factors.
  • Defector from Decadence: She fights against the Human-Machina that still want to dominate mankind, as she is part of the faction that wants to coexist peacefully.
  • Dude Magnet: Inverted, she seems easily attracted to guys, particularly those doing heroic actions, as Furuya (a sort of chubby geek at this point) got some notice from her when he risked his very normal human life to save her from some falling debris.
  • Power Armor: The Ravbarrel looks like a Humongous Mecha, but is actually a big exo-skeleton for her to battle with.
  • Robosexual: Develops feelings for Reiji, then Furuya.

Deus Ex Machina

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deus_ex_machina.jpg

  • Big Bad: As the leader of the Human Machina, he is main antagonist for the manga post-timeskip.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: Pre-timeskip, he is the reason for the conflict between Katou and Ishigami that makes up the plot of the series before the reveal of the Human Machina.
  • The Voiceless: He doesn't speak during his appearance pre-timeskip.
  • Walking Spoiler: Because to acknowledge his existence means revealing that the Human Machina are a thing, and that by itself is a spoiler.

Alternative Title(s): Kurogane No Linebarrel

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