This is the character sheet of Magic Knight Rayearth. Multiple spoilers are unmarked.
All spoilers in Emeraude, Sierra, Mokona, and Zagato's entries are also unmarked.
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The Magic Knights
As a group
- Action Girl: The series practically runs on all three of the girls being supreme, butt-kicking heroines.
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn
- Umi - Beauty, taking a Lady of War aspect.
- Fuu - Brains, being the bespectacled Smart Girl.
- Hikaru - Brawn, the boisterous Tomboy.
- Broken Bird: All of them got broken upon learning the truth about their role as Magic Knights.
- Children Forced to Kill: Princess Emeraude summoned them to Cephiro to have them kill her.
- Color-Coded Characters
- Dub Name Change: In the Latin American Spanish dub
- Hikaru to Lucy.
- Umi to Marina.
- Fuu to Anaís.
- Elemental Eye Colors: Each girls have eyes that fit their element color: Hikaru's red to fit her fire magic, Umi's is blue, and Fuu's green.
- Elemental Hair Colors:
- Hikaru: Red, though manga illustrations make it more pink.
- Umi: Long, flowing and blue.
- Fuu: A bit less obvious that Hikaru and Umi, but her wind spells are stylized in loops and curls like her short hair.
- Elemental Powers:
- Heroines Prefer Swords: Their primary weapon. Hikaru's style is based around kendo, Umi's around classical sabre fencing and Fuu's is, well, themed around the stereotypical "swordsmanship" in the fantasy genre as a whole.
- Kid Hero: All of them are 14 years old.
- Meaningful Name: The girls' given names each refer to the Elemental Powers they're associated with, while their family names reference their Rune Gods.
- "Hikaru" means "light", referring to the light a fire provides. The "Shi" in Shidou means "lion", referring to Rayearth, who looks like a cross between a lion and a wolf.
- "Umi" means "sea", and the "ryuu" in "Ryuuzaki" means "dragon", which refers to her Rune God Seles.
- "Fuu" means "wind", and the "houou" in "Hououji" is the Japanese name for the Fenghuang, a legendary bird in Eastern mythology. Naturally, her Rune God Windam is also a bird.
- Town Girls: Boisterous tomboy Hikaru (Butch), bookish smart girl Fuu (Neither) and long haired ojou Umi (Femme).
Hikaru Shidou
Voiced by Hekiru Shiina (Japanese), Julie Maddalena (TV Series), Tara Jayne (OVA), Ivette González (Latin American Spanish), Erika Robledo (Latin American Spanish, episodes 24-30)
The strong-willed heroine. Hikaru is cheerful and excitable, but shows a lot of wisdom. Her element is Fire and she eventually awakens and wears the Rune God Rayearth. Out of the heroines, she's the quickest to take up the mantle of 'Magic Knight' and is prepared to save Cephiro.
After returning to Cephiro, she tries desperately to understand everyone's motivations and save Cephiro from its fate of destruction. She begins to wonder about the Pillar system and if she ever saw the 'true' Cephiro.
- A-Cup Angst: Less pronounced than most examples these days. During a bath, Hikaru expressed that she hasn't grown any boobs and thought that it'd be nice if she got them big. No lashing out at the more endowed ladies involved.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Happens both in the second season of the anime series and the OVA, where she is given a more melancholic and guilt-ridden personality in comparison with her manga portrayal.
- All-Loving Hero: Particularly noticeable in the second half, where she wants to know everyone's motivation for doing things. She also often mentions Eagle's eyes looking sad. At the end of the series, she proclaims her love for Lantis, Eagle, and everyone else she knows.
- Badass Adorable: Qualifies the most out of the three, partly because she's easily mistaken to be younger.
- Battle Aura: Gains a fiery aura when she's excited.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Despite being very cheerful and innocent, hurting her beloved friends will make one quickly regret to have angered her. Her element is fire, after all.
- Braids of Action: One long braid.
- Brought Down to Normal: Nova snaps her sword in Episode 30, severing her connection to Rayearth and speeds-up her Heroic BSoD. It takes a dangerous, mental journey to fix the sword over six episodes.
- Elemental Shapeshifter: Her body and hair looks like they are made of fire when she gets chosen as the next Pillar.
- Even the Girls Want Her: She's very popular in her all-girls school, though the Dark Horse re-release altered the translation to sound more like teasing than genuine affection.
- Family Theme Naming: She and her older brothers' names all end with "ru"; Satoru, Masaru, Kakeru, and Hikaru.
- Fiery Redhead: Even if she looks cute, her red hair and passionate, determined personality proves why fire is her element.
- Fire Is Masculine: Hikaru wields the power of fire and is a Hot-Blooded Tomboy.
- Flaming Sword: If anyone but her touches her sword, it bursts into flames.
- Friend to All Living Things: She loves animals and can communicate with them. However, her love for animals gets used against her by Ascot in the anime.
- Genki Girl: Extremely cheerful and energetic, though the second half shows that her cheerfulness was dampened by the previous events. She's still happy when seeing old friends.
- Heir to the Dojo: Her family runs a Kendo dojo and as such she's an accomplished kendoka note , having trained it since a young age.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Owns a dog called Hikari, whom she wished to see again.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Official material says that music is her worst subject.
- Honor Before Reason: She insists on fighting Lafarga using only her swordfighting skills because he's a swordfighter himself, meaning it'd be 'cheating' to use her magic.
- Hot-Blooded: Generally the first to rush into battle.
- I Have Brothers: When asked why she has such boyish speech patterns, she explains that it's because she has three older brothers. They're also the reason why she's good at kendo, since her family runs a kendo dojo.
- Irony: Despite being the Magic Knight of Fire, according to her bio, her least favorite food is spicy foods and even weirder one of her favorite foods is ice cream.
- Journey to the Center of the Mind: Takes one when working on repairing her sword in the anime.
- Jumped at the Call: Loved hearing being called a Magic Knight and wasn't worried about other obligations. This backfired to her horribly: After learning what being a Magic Knight actually entailed, she ended up blaming herself for not reading the situation thoroughly.
- The Kirk: The first to try and listen to Clef, asking him what they need to do to return to Tokyo, and reminding the others about their missions.
- Martyr Without a Cause: She'll always get between her friends and danger, trying to protect them. The second half even has Umi tell Hikaru that she can't believe Hikaru's 'I'm fine' because of this.
- No Indoor Voice: Most of the time averted, while being a Hot-Blooded girl in general, Hikaru usually raise her voice when fighting, but she usually speaks normally in normal times. However, in episode 7, when she was handed with Ferio's so-called 'wish-granting device'... unlike Umi, Hikaru decided to just yell out of her lungs ("IWANNASEEHIKARIIIIII!!!!").
- Oblivious to Love
- She doesn't understand why Fuu blushes around Ferio or him kissing her hand.
- She also doesn't seem to understand what Lantis means when he tells her that he likes her, even wondering why her own heart was skipping a beat around him. She does point out that she loves him, just as much as she loves Eagle and everyone else.
- However, her counterpart in Super Robot Wars T gradually subverts this, since there are plenty of older female characters around who aren't afraid to talk about romance, even to a 14-year-old girl. As a result, she's able to understand and acknowledge her romantic feelings towards Lantis and how they differ from her love for everyone else.
- Older Than They Look: She's rather short for her age, which makes Umi and Fuu mistake her for an elementary school student at first. This becomes funnier when you realize, that based on how the Japanese school year works, Hikaru is actually the oldest of the girls born on August 8th.*
- Personality Powers: Fire symbolizes energy, passion and will. All of which she possesses in spades.
- Plucky Girl: Barely takes a moment to be not cheerful and bright, though the revelations do shock her. The second half also makes it clear that her cheerfulness has taken a hit, but she still has it and her determination to help Cephiro. To the point that she breaks the laws of physics the Creator has created for Cephiro.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Fuu's calming blue. And to Umi, to a lesser extent.
- Screaming Warrior: The anime depicts her as this as she lets out fearsome battlecries while charging at her foes with her sword. She especially became this when she charged at Lady Debonair to take revenge for killing Eagle.
- Sprouting Ears: In chibi mode, she tends to sprout cat ears.
- Stock Shōnen Hero: Despite being the female protagonist of a shoujo series, she actually hits more requirements for this trope than those of the typical shoujo protagonist. She's a Hot-Blooded All-Loving Hero who's associated with fire and the color red, is very protective of her friends, has befriended some of her enemies, and is Oblivious to Love.
- Tsurime Eyes: Befitting her bold personality.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: The anime depicts her as this as she fiercely battled Nova to protect and then rescue Lantis from her.
- Wise Beyond Her Years: Despite her youthfulness, she's the closet thing the three Magic Knights have to a leader. And she figures out a way to reinvent the Pillar system.
Umi Ryuuzaki
Voiced by: Konami Yoshida (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English, TV Series), Amy Birnbaum (English, OVA), Angelines Santana (Latin American Spanish)
The tallest of the girls, coming from a rich family and attends a private school for rich girls. Umi at first is the least willing to do her job, and comes off very snobbish and uncaring about Cephiro's problems. However, amongst the girls, she can be seen as the most developed out of them, as the situation completely demands her to really mature up, and she really did, becoming a much more admirable character. She's also pretty handy with a rapier, being in the fencing team of the school. She is the Magic Knight of Water and her Rune God is Seles. Seems a bit obsessed on eating Mokona, who annoys her greatly.
Umi is affectionate towards Clef, and surprised by Ascot's affection towards her, but the adaptations leave who she chooses vague.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: They're good, caring people... but also Sickeningly Sweethearts."Quit with the eternal honeymoon. Please."
- Anger Born of Worry: In the second part, she always yelling at Hikaru for doing dangerous things, wandering off, or not being honest about how bad she feels.
- Ballet: Hinted at in official artwork that appeared in Magic Knight Rayearth 2 Character Collection and Magic Knight Rayearth 2 Illustrations Collection, as well as one of the "Cups" tarot cards (specifically, the one numbered "8").
- Big Brother Instinct: Umi is the closest the Magic Knights have at being the big sister, despite being the youngest, especially with the outgoing but naive Hikaru, worrying about her as the latter undergoes a worrying development in attitude.
- Butt-Monkey: If the tone gets lighthearted, as most of the humor is about some kind of misfortune befalling Umi, and her short temper flaring up as a result. Mokona is often an offender of this.
- Bystander Syndrome: She really doesn't see why she should be dragged into Cephiro's problems. In the anime, she sticks by this for quite a while, and her sword's first evolution happens once she buries this attitude for good.
- Curtains Match the Window: Blue hair, blue eyes.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts out as a Spoiled Brat who just wants to go home, and chews Clef out when he makes his first appearance. Her later reaction to him...
- Does Not Like Spam: She dislikes sweets, but she tests her recipes on her parents.
- Does This Make Me Look Fat?: In the anime, Umi openly says this when the Chizeta princesses capture her and doll her up in a Stripperiffic odalisque outfit that bares her midriff.
- Fragile Speedster: Eagle analyzed that Umi (in Selece) has excellent speed, but lacking in defense. So the moment he locked on her, he disabled her by repeatedly shooting at her legs.
- Hime Cut: As fitting her high-class status, she has a neat and trim hairstyle of even bangs and long length.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: In humor times, she can whip out a hammer in attempt to smack Mokona around.
- An Ice Person: Her strongest spell is ice-based.
- Irony: According to her bios, Umi likes to bake cakes... but she does not like sweet foods (which includes, you know, the cakes she likes to bake). Presumably, unless it's the cakes she personally made, she wouldn't like other sweet foods.
- Kirk Summation: She gives one to Ascot when he grieves over his summoned monsters, pointing out that he's the one who sent them into battle in the first place and chastising him for siding with Zagato instead of trying harder to protect them. It works.
- Lady of War: Umi is an up and coming fencing pro, she really makes sure she has both precision and grace whenever she fights. This is displayed in full extent during the duel against the Chizeta princess, where she used all those previously mentioned traits for combat (including some jumps). It also helps that her style is identified as a Fragile Speedster.
- Making a Splash: The majority of her spells involve liquid water.
- The McCoy: She never does not say what's on her mind and always acts out of feeling, but is fiercely protective of her friends even while wounded and convinces Ascot to make a Heel–Face Turn, along with an apology. Not to mention that she gets mad at Fuu a lot for being too calm and matter-of-fact about their situation.
- Oblivious to Love: Subverted with the reformed Ascot. She is aware of his feelings but she doesn't talk about it, feeling they are Better as Friends.
- Ojou: Her parents are very wealthy and she attends a private school famous for its moneyed students. She acts like the "bratty" type at first, then evolves into the "sweet" one.
- Personality Powers: Water symbolizes emotion, and Umi is the most temperamental of the Magic Knights.
- Proper Tights with a Skirt: Her school uniform. As the armor evolves, the tights vanish.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue Oni to Hikaru's Red Oni. Though she may also the the Red Oni to Fuu's Blue Oni.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: When she was captured by the the Chizeta princesses Tarta and Tatra in the anime, there maids dress her up in a rather skimpy belly dancer outfit (which is still less revealing than the latter two's clothes), and lock her up in a cage, causing her to whine at her captors for dolling her up like this.
- Royal Rapier: The form her sword takes, owing to her being captain of the fencing team at school. She also has a high-class background to match.
- Shipper on Deck: In Season 1, she's usually the one to take notice of Fuu blushing whenever Ferio is around or being a subject of their conversation and encourages her to get closer with Ferio already.
- Showgirl Skirt: Her fully powered outfit has the top draped like this below the waist.
- Supreme Chef: She bakes as a hobby. In Umi's own words — "I'm an excellent baker... but a mess in everything else!"
- Tempting Fate: When Alcyone reappears in the second season, Umi laughs, seeing how they beat Alcyone before. Naturally, Alcyone wallops her with quite a powerful spell.
- True Blue Femininity: She's a graceful and ladylike Ojou (at least when her temper isn't getting the better of her). Because her element is water, her hair, eyes, and clothes are all blue.
- Tsurime Eyes: To go with her sharp-tongued attitude.
- Water Is Blue: Her elemental colors.
- Water Is Womanly: Her element is water, she has long, flowing light blue hair, and is praised as beautiful and elegant by other characters, wielding a rapier with grace.
Fuu Hououji
Voiced by: Hiroko Kasahara (Japanese), Bridget Hoffman (English, TV Series), Lisa Ortiz (English, OVA), Marcela Bordes (Latin American Spanish)
The resident bookworm of the trio. She attends a school for intellectually gifted girls. Fuu is polite to a fault, adding suffixes to EVERYONE she meets. Despite that, her analytical skills are formidable. She also likes RPGs. She's always seen with her glasses, and only unequips them when she is riding her Rune God. She is a member of archery club and for the earlier part, uses a bow and arrow before switching to a BFS. She is selected as the Magic Knight of Wind, and her Rune God is Windam.
She is involved with Ferio, a Cephirean warrior.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: She's blonde in the manga but has light brown hair in the anime, OVA, and Saturn game. Super Robot Wars splits the difference to a surprising degree, having her be largely blonde in her unit cut-ins, but depending on the lighting it can look more like the anime's old light brown.
- Ascended Fangirl: A huge fantasy RPG fan. See Otaku.
- Anger Born of Worry: The only time she gets overtly angry is in the anime, whenever Ferio does something risky on her behalf.
- Assurance Backfire: When the girls find themselves unexpectedly very high in the air and start to panic, Fuu tries to calm them down by saying that they'd be sure to black out before hitting the ground.
- Barrier Warrior: Her Winds of Protection are capable of stopping any attack, if she's prepared for it.
- BFS: While the other Escudo swords develop more ornate hilts as they evolve, Fuu's just gets bigger and bigger—by the time they're ready to face Zagato, it's a good foot longer than she is tall.
- Blow You Away: Her magic.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue Oni to both Hikaru's and Umi's Red Oni.
- Captain Obvious: Sometimes on purpose.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Very, very mild example. Every so often she will come to extremely bizarre conclusions. Or try to reassure her friends that they shouldn't worry about falling from the stratosphere because they will black out before they hit the ground.
- Combat Medic: The only Magic Knight to learn a healing spell (Winds of Healing), but spends as much (or more) time swinging her heavy sword to monsters too. In SRW T, this is a particular defining feature of hers, as she not only gets Winds of Healing as a full-on spell on top of the Spirit Command Trust, but her natural skill set trends for her being a tank for other army-mates.
- Dissonant Serenity: Often, when put into a bizarre or perilous situation, Fuu's immediate reaction is to get really smiley with flower effects drawn around her. This happens when they're summoned to Cephiro and again when their flying platform rockets up into the sky while Umi is chasing Mokona.
- Establishing Character Moment: She’s introduced putting change into the binoculars Hikaru was using, because she was enjoying seeing Hikaru have fun, and Hikaru’s classmates recognize her uniform as one from a prestigious private school.
- Family Theme Naming: She has an older sister named Kuu.
- Forgot About His Powers: Despite having the most versatile power set of the Knights, she has an unfortunate tendency to do this, ie not thinking to try Winds of Protection against Lafarga's shockwaves or even worse, not thinking to use Winds of Healing on Presea until *after* she'd died. But, then again, she is fourteen and is not used to having to think about using literal magic powers to save a person's life, RPG experience or no.
- Formal Characters Use Keigo: She always uses polite speech patterns in the Japanese version, complete with attaching "-san" to the names of most others. This helps emphasize her Yamato Nadeshiko disposition.
- Genre Savvy: At the beginning, Fuu continually points out the resemblance between their journey and the events of an RPG, such as getting equipment, wondering about the loot drops from monsters, and exclaiming that they don't have enough Experience Points to take on Alcyone. This ends up subverted, though, since she is as blindsided by the true situation with Emeraude as the others.
- The Glasses Come Off: Her glasses disappear when she's inside her Mashin. Lampshaded when Umi asks her if she can see well and Fuu says that yes, she can. Presumably, Windam is correcting its own display with magic so she can see.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: In the manga. She's polite and generous, and Clef identifies her sense of compassion as the source of her magic strength. Notably, the first spell she learns is for healing. (The adaptations make her a Brainy Brunette.)
- Healing Winds: She is the Magic Knight of Wind and is the only main character to learn a healing spell, appropriately called "Winds of Healing".
- Idiot Ball: Ferio calls her an idiot for either not dodging a monsternote or trying to rescue him completely alone.note She laughs and says it's the first time she's ever been called that.
- The Medic: Her green winds can also heal injuries.
- Official Couple: Her and Ferio, pretty much the most canon and obvious in the show. The games try to dial this down slightly, but it's still very obvious.
- Otaku: In the first volume, she is constantly pointing out the ways their adventure is similar to a fantasy RPG. (Or dismayed when they clearly have not leveled up enough to take on Alcyone, who appears right after they meet Clef.)
- Personality Powers: Air symbolizes intellect and communication. Fuu is the most intellectual of the Magic Knights, and she always speaks with precision.
- Razor Wind: Her more powerful spells, such as Emerald Typhoon, do this.
- The Smart Girl: She's very good at devising new spells for the situation and thinks her way out of Caldina's enchantment, with a hint from Windam.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: She's the only character who wears glasses, and she's easily the most intelligent of the three Magic Knights.
- The Spock: An atypical example. She advocates caution and pragmatism because they can't fulfill their objective unless they stay alive, but she also applies her logic to compassion. In Eterna, the loved one she faces is herself, since she knows that any hurt to her would also hurt her family. She also notes early on that Cephiro's system allows only for total peace or total chaos.
- Stone Wall: Eagle noted that while Fuu has tremendous defense through Windam, she's lacking in offense. And this isn't before she casts the spell Winds of Protection. SRW T takes it to the obvious conclusion and her natural skill progression makes her a very serviceable support defender.
- The Strategist: She's good at analyzing battle situations and makes some insightful comments about the logic of Cephiro's system, pointing out that the only possible outcomes under the Pillar system are total peace or total chaos. This is long before The Reveal about Emeraude.
- Tareme Eyes: Fuu's eye are drawn much less sharply than the other two. Although she's not shy, she does have a much more calm and polite personality than Hikaru and Umi.
- Teen Genius: She attends a school for gifted students and studies computer programming.
- Unwanted Rescue: When Ferio breaks her out of the Dreamchild in the anime, Fuu objects to the risk he took. And it's true that she probably didn't need it—like Hikaru and Umi, she could have broken out with Windam's help and had basically defeated Aska's ninja army on her own.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: She single-handedly killed a giant monster that was about to eat Ferio alive.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: She thinks they're in a normal JRPG with Black-and-White Morality, but she's dead wrong about Zagato being the "final boss" and Emeraude's true situation.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: She is very polite and formal.
Supporting Characters
Cephiro
Clef
Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (Japanese), Steve Staley (English, TV Series), Immy Uncle (English, OVA), Víctor Mares Jr. (Latin American Spanish)
Clef is Cephiro's Guru, the most powerful magician in the land. He is one of Emeraude's most trusted advisers and was sent by her to guide the Magic Knights upon their arrival in Cephiro. Even though he is quite venerable and powerful, he's rather tetchy towards the Magic Knights when they first arrive.
- The Archmage: He is the chief and most powerful mage in all of Cephiro, bearing the title of Guru. Nearly every native Cephiran in the story that can use magic, even Zagato himself, learned it from Clef.
- The Atoner: In the second half. He blames himself for letting the situation with Emeraude get as bad as it did, as well as for the heartbreak the Magic Knights suffered as a result.
- Berserk Button: Assuming that he's a child and otherwise making cracks about his height. He even leans over another panel in a scene he's nowhere near to complain when Umi calls him short.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Implied to be the reason why he misled the girls in the beginning — the truth was just too painful.
- Cutesy Dwarf: But don't tell him that.
- The Mentor: He's separated from his charges early on (though not by death) and occasionally counsels them from afar.
- Metaphorically True: He tells the girls that if they can become the Magic Knights, Emeraude's wish will be fulfilled. He's well aware of what that wish really is, but he masks it with generalities and by talking about Zagato.
- In both Tokyopop's 10th anniversary translation and the Dark Horse retranslation, this becomes an outright lie. He tells them that defeating Zagato will "restore Emeraude's rule."
- Mystical White Hair: He's the most powerful mage in the land and one of the few characters to have outright white hair. (Technically, it's pale lavender, but it's still pretty close.)
- The Napoleon: Benevolent example. He's clearly one of the good guys, yes, but he HATES when people think he's a kid.
- Really 700 Years Old: He's 745 years old. Go on, tell me he DIDN'T look ten when you first saw him.
- Secret-Keeper: In the anime. He asks Sierra to pose as her sister Presea and keeps her actual identity from everyone else but them and Mokona.
- Spirit Advisor: In Part 1, he communicates through Mokona.
- Taken for Granite: In the anime, he's petrified by Zagato as soon as he sends the Magic Knights on their way, although he's still able to communicate through Mokona for some time. By the end of the first part, however, he's back to normal.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Autozam Clef.
- The Worf Effect: In the anime only. Zagato gets to show off how powerful is with the aforementioned ambush and petrification, and knocks down the whole cliff face while he's at it.
Presea
Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese), Mari Devon (English), Gabriela León (Latin American Spanish)
Presea is the Pharle, a title bestowed on the master blacksmith of Cephiro. She is the first person that the Magic Knights are sent to visit, as she possesses an impressive armory and can craft weapons especially for them. Although her smithing skills are unquestionable, she is... a little odd.
- Adaptational Badass: She gets a fight scene in the anime when a mud monster invades her house. Turns out she can use all those swords she makes.
- The Blacksmith
- Ultimate Blacksmith: This is what the Pharle of Cephiro is. She's the only one who's able to craft weapons from Escudo.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She might be skilled, but she is prone to overreactions to trespassing and seems to love daydreaming bizarre methods of punishment.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: She has a lot of fun dreaming up ways to take revenge on Mokona and trespassers, such as cooking them alive or seeing how far their ears will stretch.
- Cool Big Sis: To the Magic Knights.
- Death by Adaptation: Killed off in the anime for no reason, ironically creating a plot hole that had to be filled up.
- Leotard of Power: Under a half-skirt and her smith's apron.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: All of her weapons are custom-made for a single specific person. Most can still be borrowed by others, such as the ones she lends the girls, but the Escudo weapons absolutely cannot be wielded by anyone else.
- Sacrificial Lamb: In the anime only. She's killed by Ascot's creatures in the sixth episode, just after she finishes the swords.
- Schrödinger's Cast: See above. In the manga, meanwhile, there's no attack by Ascot and she's there all the way through Part II.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Nissan Presea.
- Wrench Wench: The closest equivalent in a medieval land.
Ferio
Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese), Yumi Touma (Japanese, child), Terrence Stone (English, TV Series), Jim Esnz (English, OVA), Ulises Cuadra (Latin American Spanish), Marcela Bordes (Latin American Spanish, child)
A swordsman that the Magic Knights encounter in the Forest of Silence. He has a smart-aleck attitude, but he teams up with them temporarily to navigate the monster-ridden forest. He claims to be looking for the Spring of Eterna like they are so that he can become a Magic Knight Himself. He takes a particular shine to Fuu and makes a point of flirting with her.
- Adaptational Villainy: The OVA Rayearth casts him as one of the invading antagonists from Cephiro who has control over insectoid monsters and a much colder, more sadistic personality. For maximum irony, Fuu is the Magic Knight he fights and attempts to kill.
- Badass Normal: He never displays any kind of magical powers, but he gets by pretty well with just a sword and his wits.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In the Saturn game. Alcyone does this to him and orders him to kill Fuu.
- Distressed Dude: Inouva binds him up and tells Fuu to give up being a Magic Knight or he'll be killed. It backfires hugely.
- Dub Name Change: In the Latin American dub, he's called Paris.
- Foreshadowing: In the manga, Fuu wonders how he knows the legend of the Magic Knights when it's supposed to be secret to those close to Emeraude.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a very prominent one on his nose bridge, and an x-shaped one on his left cheek.
- Guile Hero: In the anime he assists the girls and hampers their pursuers by various means of trickery.
- Hidden Backup Prince: In the anime, as a result of the Laser-Guided Amnesia below.
- I Kiss Your Hand: He kisses Fuu's hand after their adventure in the Forest of Silence, causing a Luminescent Blush.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: After the incident with Inouva, Ferio decides that he's more of a liability than a help to the trio and tells Fuu to forget him so that she won't be distracted from their quest.
- King Incognito: Prince Incognito to be more specific. In the manga, unlike what happened in the anime, he never forgot he's Princess Emeraude's brother but lived as a wandering swordsman until she died and he had to step in.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Anime-only. He doesn't remember he is Emeraude's brother in the first season of, since she deleted his memories of their time together. But he asked her to do so because he feared it'd be painful to remember a sister with no time for him. He gets his memories back eventually.
- Licked by the Dog: Mokona takes to him straight away. It's double-subverted—Umi and Fuu warn Hikaru that this alone isn't a good indicator of Ferio's character, but he does turn out to be a good guy. And it's really more of Licked By The God.
- Mysterious Protector: Fuu actually enlists his help to get them through the Forest of Silence. In the anime he sticks around longer, popping up to help them through a village or a tricky mountain pass.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Sets off to find the Spring of Eterna to see if he can find some Escudo for himself.
- Troubled, but Cute: He isn't happy about the situation his sister is in at all.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Honda Civic Ferio.
Lafarga
Voiced by: Yukimasa Kishino (Japanese), Bob Papenbrook (English), Rubén Trujillo (Latin American Spanish)
Lafarga is the Captain of Emeraude's personal guard. He is Cephiro's most skilled swordsman. Even though he doesn't use any magic, he's still a deadly foe when Zagato hypnotizes him and sends him to stop the Magic Knights from acquiring the final Mashin.
- Badass Normal: Knows no magic, but can still kick lots of asses with just his sword.
- BFS: His weapon.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: First season. Although technically he is protecting Emeraude by trying to kill the Magic Knights.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: He can use Razor Wind not with magic, but with the sheer force of air pressure generated when he swings his sword.
- Dub Name Change: Known as Ráfaga in the Latin American dub.
- Gentle Giant: Once he's un-brainwashed.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Caldina. Or rather, "huge guy, normal girl."
- Master Swordsman: He's the best and most powerful swordsman in Cephiro, earning him the title of Dal.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Briefly when he realizes he'd been forced to work for Zagato and attack children.
- Official Couple: With Caldina, in the anime. Jossed in the games, where he is totally aloof and solely concentrated on his knightly duty.
- Power Glows: The anime has his tattoos glow when he tries to fight off his brainwashing.
- The Stoic: He's the most straightlaced person in the palace during the second half.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Honda Rafaga.
- Worthy Opponent: Hikaru considers him to be this.
Lantis
Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (Japanese), Lex Lang (English, TV Series), Dan Stevens (English, OVA), Juán Zadala (Latin American Spanish)
Lantis appears in the second half of the story, when the Magic Knights return to Cephiro. He is Cephiro's only Cail (a swordsman who excels at magic) and the former captain of Princess Emeraude's personal guard. He left the country before the events of the first half, and is under a cloud of suspicion for being Zagato's younger brother and living in Autozam before his return. During his time there, he grew very close to Eagle Vision, the President's son. He returns to Cephiro in the second half of the story, and doesn't say much about why.
- Aloof Ally: He doesn't bother arguing against the suspicion around him and just does his thing.
- Badass Cape: Wears a black one as his trademark uniform.
- Badass in Distress: At one point in the anime, Nova abducts him.
- Cool Horse: A summoned one with a fiery mane.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Wears all black, shares his brother's dark looks, and rides a Hellish Horse. He's a good guy.
- Defeat Means Friendship: In the anime, he became friends with Eagle after defeating his FTO in a tournament.
- Defector from Decadence: He left his cushy job as Cail to travel other worlds after Zagato starts to question the Pillar system.
- Distressed Dude: Near the end of the season, after he is captured by Nova.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: In the manga, he threatens to kill Mokona the Creator if it doesn't release Hikaru and Eagle.
- Irony: The Creator informs him that his will to destroy the Pillar System has made his heart the strongest in all of Cephiro, making him a perfect candidate to be the Pillar himself. Hikaru and Eagle have stronger hearts, so he doesn't undergo the trial, but it's still wicked ironic.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With either Hikaru or Primera.
- Licked by the Dog: Mokona bounds right up to him.
- Magic Knight: Not one of the Magic Knights, obviously. His title of Cail is granted only to those who master both swordsmanship and magic.
- Nice Guy: Behind his stoic facade, he has a big heart willing to help everyone including children, loves nature so much and easily forgives Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu for killing Zagato, his older brother and Emeraude, Cephiro's princess as he understands they would be happy in their afterlife despite being under Cephiro's burden.
- The Mole: Lafarga suspects him of being this for Autozam, as he spent some time there. But he isn't.
- Professional Slacker: When he was Cail, he spent a lot of the day napping in trees. However, he genuinely didn't have a lot to do because Emeraude's prayers kept dangers from arising.
- The Stoic: Doesn't talk much, probably as a result of recently losing his brother. Flashbacks show him as more friendly.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He looks a LOT like his older brother, their only real physical differences being their clothing and hairstyles. Lampshaded by the girls upon meeting him, and specially by Hikaru.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Mazda Lantis.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to destroy the Pillar System, regardless of the consequences for Cephiro.
Primera
Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (Japanese), Rebecca Forstadt (English), Erika Robledo (Latin American Spanish)
Primera is a tiny fairy who is Lantis' self-appointed assistant. She thinks she and Hikaru are in a Love Triangle; for Lantis' part, he has no such interest and conspicuously ignores her when her overblown sense of possessiveness results in things like Mokona sitting on her.- Butt-Monkey: She's always getting tackled by Mokona or ignored by Lantis.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Her profile lists "getting between her and Lantis" as her least favorite thing.
- Dub Name Change: Known as Primavera in the Latin American dub.
- Fairy Companion: To Lantis; she frequently accompanies him and essentially buffs his spells during battle.
- Healing Hands: Can heal wounds with her wing magical powder.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Lantis.
- Hypocritical Humor: The eight-inch-high fairy mocks Hikaru's shortness.
- I Owe You My Life: She's devoted to Lantis because he saved her from being trapped in rubble.
- Moment Killer: Quite deliberately. Whenever she sees Hikaru sharing a deep gaze with Lantis, she swoops into berate her (unless Mokona tackles her first).
- Plucky Comic Relief: Her only role in the story is to provide some occasional comic relief in the Darker and Edgier second season.
- Running Gag: Mokona almost always tries to eat her.
- Support Party Member: She basically buffs Lantis' spells.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Nissan Primera.
Rune Gods
The legendary beings that will don with the Magic Knights to help them fulfill their duty and save Cephiro. Earning their trust will require a test of their willpower and mental fortitude. Their souls reside in a pocket dimension after deeming the Magic Knights worthy, and they can communicate with them via telepathy.
- Baritone of Strength: With mighty godlike power comes also deep, booming voices.
- Bond Creatures: They bond their Humongous Mecha form to the Magic Knights and let the latter move the former like moving their own limbs. This also means that any damage the mecha receives, the Magic Knights will directly receive them as well.
- Elemental Powers: They govern over the elements the Magic Knights specialized: Fire, Water and Wind.
- Humongous Mecha: Yes, a trio of magic and mental powered mecha. Based on their origins and powers, they would be classified as Super Robots.
- A Mech by Any Other Name: "Rune God" or "Mashin" apparently translate into mecha for Cephirans.
Flame God Rayearth
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese), Lex Lang (English), Guillermo Romano (Latin American Spanish)
The Rune God of Fire, taking form of a lion-wolf hybrid with manes made out of fire. He dons with Hikaru. In the OVA, however, he is known as Lexus.
- Aerith and Bob: As opposed to other Rune Gods which has fancy, fantastical names courtesy of Vehicular Theme Naming, Rayearth's name is pretty common in comparison, just combining the English words "Ray" and "Earth". This is averted in the OVA, 'Lexus' is still in-line with Vehicular Theme Naming.
- King of Beasts: Mixed with Noble Wolf, but Rayearth's lion features is more known, to match with Hikaru's Meaningful Name on the surname (the 'Shi' part of 'Shidou' is part of 'Shishi/Lion')
- Playing with Fire: Of course, this is his calling card. As Lexus, it's implied that he also governs Earth elemental, but this is never explored.
Sea God Selece
Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Terrence Stone (English), Juán Zadala (Latin American Spanish, Episode 15), Juán Cuadra (Latin American Spanish, rest of the series)
The Rune God of Water, taking form of a blue dragon. He dons with Umi.
- Gender-Blender Name: Selece can be seen as a derivative of 'Celes/Ceres', a very feminine name. However, he's male, with Baritone of Strength to match up with it.
- Making a Splash: He governs over water element.
- Our Dragons Are Different: His form is a Western winged dragon, but is a benevolent figure. In the OVA, however, he's a legless serpentine Eastern dragon. Additionally, his species also matches with Umi's Meaningful Name on the surname (The 'Ryuu' part in 'Ryuuzaki' means 'Dragon')
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Toyota Corolla Ceres.
Sky God Windam
Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese), Lex Lang (English), Alejandro Abdalah (Latin American Spanish)
The Rune God of Wind, taking form of a green phoenix. He dons with Fuu.
- Blow You Away: While phoenixes are usually affiliated with flames, Windam governs wind instead.
- The Phoenix: It's a green wind phoenix. Aside of matching Fuu's Meaningful Name on the surname (the 'Houou' part in 'Hououji' means 'Phoenix'), he also compliments the 'immortality' factor by matching with Fuu's healing and protection spell.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Toyota Windom.
Autozam
Eagle Vision
Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (Japanese), Jerry Gelb (English), Gladys Parra (Latin American Spanish)
The son of Autozam's president and commander of the battleship sent to Cephrio in Part II. He's also the pilot of the FTO. Eagle grew very close to Lantis when the latter settled in Autozam and is deeply regretful of their present emnity, but he doesn't turn back. He's also one of the most dangerous opponents for the Magic Knights and the other invaders. The reason he gives for invasion is that Autozam needs something like the Pillar System to cleanse the rampant pollution that is slowly killing his world.
- Ace Pilot: He comes out on top when his FTO fights solo against the three Magic Knights for the first time.
- Adaptational Heroism: He's already sympathetic in the manga, but in the anime, he helps the Magic Knights rescue Lantis from Nova.
- Adaptational Villainy: By contrast, the Rayearth OVA turns Eagle into the scheming younger brother of Princess Emeraude and the chief antagonist in the story.
- Anti-Villain: He wants to bring the Pillar system to Autozam to solve their pollution crisis. At least, this is the assumption. In reality, he wants to put Cephiro and himself into an eternal sleep so that the Pillar tragedy will not be repeated, because he's worried that Lantis will die trying to destroy the system.
- Armor-Piercing Question: He asks Aska and Chizeta's princesses why they want to become the Pillar. To Aska's desire to treat the world as a toy, he replies that she either has to forget everything but Cephiro or destroy it completely, and to Tarta and Tatra he says that even if they treat Cephiro's citizens gently, they'll still resist being invaded. Tatra replies with one of her own, asking if Autozam is just going to move everyone to Cephiro outright to escape their polluted world.
- Blood from the Mouth: He has this from frequent coughing fits in the anime.
- Climax Boss: His big attack on Cephiro Castle marks the last turning point in the show before it goes into the final few episodes.
- Death by Adaptation: In the anime, he's killed by Debonair.
- Delicate and Sickly: He becomes sickly and gets an Incurable Cough of Death due to his overuse of Autozam's technology, which is powered by mental energy.
- Determinator: A prerequisite for being able to open a Road from one world to another. And to be a candidate for Pillar.
- Friendly Enemy: He's polite to the Magic Knights, as well as the representatives of Fahren and Chizeta, and bears them no ill-will even while they're battling each other. It's even more apparent in the anime, when Hikaru spends some time in Autozam's ship.
- Heavy Sleeper: He's been known to sleep through important ceremonies at home and takes frequent naps on the ship. It's a sign of his ill health.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Whenever he steps into the FTO.
- More Expendable Than You: He wants to become Pillar because he's afraid Lantis will die trying to end the system.
- Power-Strain Blackout: Occurs when he attacks the Roads from Chizeta and Autozam. Geo and Zazu have to save him from either dying or having his mind wiped by the computer.
- She's a Man in Japan: Eagle Vision is depicted as female in the Latin American dub as a way to avoid
Ho Yay with Lantis and Geo Metro. The result is a Pseudo-Romantic Friendship with Hikaru. - Stepford Smiler: He almost always has a smile on his face, but Hikaru makes note of his sad eyes. Mainly because he's slowly dying on top of fighting his old friend Lantis.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Eagle Vision.
- Your Days Are Numbered: According to his medical data, he shouldn't even have survived the trip to Cephiro. He takes it as license to be as reckless as possible.
Geo Metro
Voiced by: Kiyoyuki Yanada (Japanese), Doug Stone (English), Rubén Trujillo (Latin American Spanish)
Geo is Eagle's Number Two. He spends most of his time being concerned about his commander's poor health and reckless habits. In the anime, he sorties alongside Eagle to fight the Magic Knights.
- Ace Pilot: Of the GTO, although he only gets to pilot it in the anime.
- Adaptational Badass: In the manga, Eagle locks down the GTO so Geo can't use it. In the anime, Eagle and Geo sortie together multiple times, and he's quite effective against the Mashin.
- Anger Born of Worry: Towards Eagle, all the damn time.
- Anti-Villain: He's a good guy who's just working for his boss; he just happens to be invading another country.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has an X-shaped scar on his face.
- Hot-Blooded: Usually expresses himself in a very loud and energetic way.
- The Lancer: To Eagle.
- Sweet Tooth: Keeps a stash of sweets in his room and in the war room.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: Like many, *many* things in the manga, he's named for an automobile: The Geo Metro.
Zazu Torque
Voiced by: Jun'ichi Kanemaru (Japanese), Brianne Siddall (English), Humberto Amor (Latin American Spanish)
Zazu is the 15-year-old mech engineer of the NSX. He joined the mission largely because he admires Eagle's piloting abilities and loves Autozam's Humongous Mecha.- The Alcoholic: Likes drinking, but Geo never lets him.
- Anti-Villain: Apart from being an expert mechanic, he's a completely typical young boy.
- Keet: Extremely chipper—in fact, he doesn't seem too worried about Autozam's situation at all.
- KidAnova: He likes pretty girls and, when they capture Hikaru in the anime, is elated to learn that she's in his age bracket.
- Meaningful Name: Torque is something a mechanic needs to know a lot about.
- Shorter Means Smarter: Zazu is about half the height of Eagle and Geo. He serves as their Mission Control when they sortie and fixes their mechs when they're home.
- Teen Genius: Despite his age, he's trusted with the upkeep of two extremely powerful mechanized weapons and is the third in the NSX's chain of command.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: Not named after a specific model of car, but after the torque that automotive engines produce.
Chizeta
Tarta and Tatra
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Tarta, Japanese), Kikuko Inoue (Tatra, Japanese), Melissa Fahn (English, Both of them), Erika Robledo (Tarta, Latin American Spanish), Leyla Home (Tatra, Latin American Spanish)
Tarta and Tatra are the princesses of Chizeta, a tiny country that neighbors Cephiro. In the second half, they see the leaderless world as a perfect colony for their overpopulated homeland. Although the two of them seem to have completely different personalities, they are extremely effective when they fight together.
- Affably Evil: While "evil" is a misnomer, they're quite pleasant and polite to the Magic Knights, and even outright admit that they have no intention of oppressing Cephiro's natives. Tatra even serves Umi tea while they're holding her captive.
- Anti-Villain: They want to turn Cephiro into a colony to relieve population pressure in Chizeta. When questioned, Tarta says that she has no intention of oppressing Cephiro's people. Later, Tatra says that if the people of Cephiro resisted Chizeta's wishes, Tarta would give up.
- As You Know: Tatra helpfully explains to Tarta that the country they are both princesses of is really small, and that Fahrenese royalty uses summon magic.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Tatra is one of the princesses of Chizeta, and is outright stated by Tarta to be the best fighter in their country.
- Battle Strip: Tatra whips off her harem pants when she duels Umi, fighting her basically in her underwear.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Tatra is a cheerful and pleasant Cloudcuckoolander, but is, according to her sister, the best fighter in Chizeta.
- Braids of Action: Tarta wears her hair in a single braid on the left side of her head.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Tarta has no volume control and a short fuse, Tatra rarely seems engaged and only participates when she's dragged into it. Their character bio says that between both of them, they make about one normal person.
- Duels Decide Everything: They call off their invasion of Cephiro after Umi beats them both in a duel.
- Fiery Redhead: Unlike her sister, Tarta has the hot-headed personality to go along with her red hair.
- Genius Ditz: Tatra is a big fan of tea and a Cloudcuckoolander. She lasted the longest against Eagle when he tried to stop Chizeta and Fahren from getting to Cephiro and, in the anime, is the best swordfighter in Chizeta, with even Tata getting worried when she gets ready to fight.
- Graceful Loser: When Umi defeats them in a duel, they calmly admit defeat and call off their invasion of Cephiro.
- Hidden Depths: Tatra enjoys acting spacy, but when the situation becomes serious, so does she. When Eagle makes his ultimatum in the manga, she engages with him quite gravely and questions his own motives. In the anime, she also gets serious when battling Alber, a regenerating monster who serves Lady Debonair.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take much to set Tarta off—a lot of her fight with Umi is just them screaming at each other.
- Honor Before Reason:
- When treating Umi to tea after her fight with Tarta, Tatra reassures a suspicious Umi that the tea is not poisoned, and they would never use underhanded means to defeat their enemies.
- During Tatra's duel with Umi, Tarta saves Umi from being knocked out of the ring by Tatra in part because Umi herself saved her, allowing Umi to continue fighting; of course, when all is said and done, Tatra remarks that even if Tarta hadn't done so, Umi most likely would have won.
- Hot-Blooded: Tarta is a very passionate warrior who spends a good chunk of her screentime yelling.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Tatra spends most of her time acting spacey and drinking tea, until Umi bests Tarta in a duel in the anime. She's also the one to last longest when Eagle attacks Fahren and Chizeta at once.
- Meaningful Name: Accidental, but in English, Tarta sounds like it's referring to her tart personality.
- No Indoor Voice: Tarta has a hard time keeping the volume down.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Done in-universe when Tarta puts on a more formal accent. Tatra helpfully points out that she's reverting to her natural Kansei-ben while Tarta is ranting loudly, much to the latter's embarrassment.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Tatra is a sweet, whimsical tea-lover who spends most of her time lounging around, while Tarta is a militaristic, short-tempered warrior with No Indoor Voice.
- Stripperiffic: Apparently it's a Chizetan culture to show as much skin as possible and dress as seductively as possible, even by the royalty.
- Summon Magic: They utilize this to bring out their Djinn.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tarta is the loud and aggressive tomboy, and Tatra is the soft-spoken and gentle girly girl.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Czech car company Tatra.
- Whip Sword: Tatra's weapon.
Fahren
Princess Aska
Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (Japanese), Sandy Fox (English), Gabriela León (Latin American Spanish)
The child princess of the nation of Fahren. Unlike Autozam and Chizeta, it's unclear if there's any justifiable reason for them to desire Cephiro; she apparently decided to invade it simply because as Princess of Fahren, she feels she's entitled to do so (and so she can turn it into a land of sweets). Despite her immaturity, she is a powerful magician and a dangerous opponent.
In the anime, she captures Fuu and holds her prisoner on her ship, the Dreamchild. Fuu's polite and respectful demeanor (which is the polar opposite of Aska's) starts making Aska think more seriously about what she's doing and why.
- Art Initiates Life: Her magic is to summon whatever she draws into life. Larger than life, in most cases.
- Bratty Half-Pint: She's completely disrespectful to Chang Ang and San Yung, and then tries to keep Fuu and Windam as personal possessions in the anime.
- Character Development: After meeting Fuu personally, Aska begins to question if what she's doing is a good idea. Shown more in the anime than the manga, where it is Eagle talking to both of the other nations at once.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Technically, Chang Ang is her regent, but she still calls all the shots.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After Fuu tells her the truth behind the Pillar and escapes, Aska looks forward to their promised tea and defends Cephiro's castle from the NSX with Great San Yung.
- Improbable Age: She's twelve years old and has the authority to command her country's battleship, on top of having incredible magic and willpower for her age.
- It's All About Me: Unlike Autozam and Chizeta, Fahren has no real justification to invade. They only do so because Aska wants it like a toy, until Fuu (Eagle in the manga) explains the truth behind being the Pillar.
- Large Ham: Especially in the dub.
- Noblewoman's Laugh: She does this a lot and even teaches San Yung the proper form in the anime.
- Ojou: She's an actual princess, definitely the bratty type.
- Power-Strain Blackout: Not necessarily an inherent risk of her powers—opening a Road and recklessly casting giant drawings does it, though.
- Royal Brat: She wants to become Pillar solely so she can turn Cephiro into a land of desserts and candy. When she's informed that other nations are out to become the Pillar, she throws a tantrum since she believes she's the only one entitled to the position, simply because of her belief that as the Princess of Fahren, she's invincible.
- Royal "We": She refers to herself this way in the English translation.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: In the anime, she says that she'll allow Fuu to leave if she wins an archery contest. When Fuu wins, Aska changes the conditions to fighting an army of ninja. When Fuu defeats them....
- Summon Magic: She's able to bring paper drawings to life.
- Tsundere: To San Yung.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Isuzu Aska.
San Yung
Voiced by: Satomi Koorogi (Japanese), Barbara Goodson (English), Rocío Robledo (Latin American Spanish)
One of Aska's two retainers. San Yung is a child too, but unlike Aska he is very conscientious of his studies, cautious about confronting their adversaries, and actually paid attention to the things they were taught about the other countries before their invasion. He and Aska are also quite clearly attracted to each other in a puppy-love way.- Adorably Precocious Child: He's the same age as Aska, but he's one of her closest advisers and seems to be a pretty smart cookie.
- Beleaguered Assistant: This is inevitable when you're working for Princess Aska. He's subject to her tantrums and is horribly embarrassed when she uses him as a subject for a summoned giant. He also has to be responsible for knowing all the things Aska would know herself, if she paid any attention to her studies.
- Black Bead Eyes: Notably the only character to have these; his eyes are consistently drawn as two black dots.
- Blush Sticker: Most of the time. It becomes a Luminescent Blush when Aska creates Great San Yung.
- Inconsistent Spelling: His name is written as Ssanyun in the Dark Horse translation of the manga, and Sang Yung in the English translation of Super Robot Wars 30.
- Non-Standard Character Design: He is the only character with Black Bead Eyes and no visible nose.
- Subordinate Excuse: He has a crush on Aska.
Chang Ang
Voiced by: Kouhei Miyauchi (episodes 26-31)/Takkou Ishimori (episode 31+) (Japanese), Milton James (English), Alejandro Abdalah (Latin American Spanish)
Aska's regent, but it seems to be a meaningless title given that she's doing whatever she wants anyway. His main role is to vehemently protest anytime Aska does something rash, like casting high-level spells, or lamenting the fact that she didn't bother learning a thing about the dangers they're likely to encounter in Cephiro.- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Technically he's Aska's regent, but he's completely unable to control her.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: They completely obscure his eyes until he frantically tries to talk Aska out of using her puppet-string spell.
- Old Retainer: To Fahren's royal family. His exact relation to Aska is unclear.
- So Proud of You: In the anime. After Aska decides she shouldn't become the Pillar, he pats her head and says that he knew she would realize she needed to stop. He also doesn't protest her use of the summon magic to protect Cephiro.
- Team Dad: For both Aska and San Yung, being the only one there of adult age who's actually going to offer an opinion on what they're doing.
- Wizard Beard: He has an extremely long beard, although he doesn't have any apparent magic powers.
Villains
Alcyone
Voiced by: Yuri Amano (Japanese), Barbara Goodson (English, TV series), Debbie Rabbai (English, OVA), Ana Grinta (Latin American Spanish)
A sorceress who is in love with Zagato. She was taught by Clef himself, but she is utterly devoted to Zagato and willing to follow any order he gives. She is the first enemy that the Magic Knights face.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the OVA where not only is her villainous schemes are all for the welfare of Cephiro but she even is loyal to Princess Emeraude. And in the anime version,she ends having a Redemption Equals Death in the final episode of the series.
- Ascended Extra: She was merely a Starter Villain in the original manga who dies shortly after her second battle against the Magic Knights. The anime largely expands her role, featuring her as a recurring antagonist, being also included in the second season. The games also gave her a bigger role in the story.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica compared to Emeraude's Betty.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Season 2 of the anime.
- Broken Bird: In Season 2 of the anime, she's been shattered due to her battles, Zagato's rejection, and her brainwashing by Debonair, leaving her weak and arguably insane. She's pitied more than reviled by the other characters, and especially during her death scene.
- Character Death: In the manga, she is mortally wounded after her second encounter with the Magic Knights, and Zagato lets her die. In the second season of the anime, Debonair erases her from existence after Alcyone spills the beans on her.
- Character Exaggeration: She's even nastier in the anime. Not only does she laugh at the Magic Knights while trying to kill them, she tricks Ascot into giving one of his beloved creatures a Deadly Upgrade and freezes Ascot himself solid when he tries to do something about it.
- Combat Pragmatist: She knows she isn't powerful enough to defeat Clef, so she summons monsters to keep him busy while she goes after her real target, the Magic Knights.
- Despair Event Horizon: More evident in the anime because she's alive longer. Realizing that Zagato will never love her and that he's in love with Emeraude sent her over the edge. His death doesn't affect her quite as much because she deludes herself into believing that Lantis is the same person.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: She survives the beating she took from the Magic Knights and hangs around for the rest of S1, only to be killed by Debonair in Season 2.
- Dub Name Change: Known as Alanis in the Latin American dub.
- Empty Shell: When captured by the Cephireans in the second season, the poor woman is seen vacant and despondent to almost anything. Lantis is the only one who can make her react, and that's just because she thinks he is Zagato.
- Faux Affably Evil: She addresses Clef as "dear teacher" and the Magic Knights with mock affection.
- Femme Fatalons: Sports them, although not for use in battle.
- Geas: In Season 2 of the anime, she is under one with the condition that she never reveal Debonair's existence or location to anyone on pain of death. Whenever Alcyone was on the verge of talking about Debonair, she experienced sudden pain as result of the geas. When she finally forces herself to tell the Magic Knights about Debonair's location (Cephiro's Underside), the geas erases Alcyone from existence.
- An Ice Person: Her brand of magic.
- Kick the Dog: She proposes a Villain Team-Up with Ascot in Episode 9 of the anime, but tricks him into killing his own creature, laughs at his protests, and then hits him with a freezing spell.
- Love Makes You Evil: It also apparently magnifies Love Makes You Crazy, even wanting to Murder the Hypotenuse in the anime.
- Navel-Deep Neckline: Some of her leotards have necklines that plunge past her navel.
- Redemption Equals Death: In the anime. She's killed directly after telling the Magic Knights about Debonair's location (Cephiro's Underside). By this time, Alcyone decides to Face Death with Dignity and [[ whispers Zagato's name in one last declaration of love.
- Shoulders of Doom: She sports an elaborate pair of very wide pauldrons.
- Showgirl Skirt: Wears this over her Leotard of Power.
- Starter Villain: Subverted. She's the first person the Magic Knights face, but she's way too powerful for them to handle because (according to Fuu) they don't have enough "experience points."
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Subaru Alcyone.
- Yandere: Over Zagato.
- You Have Failed Me: After failing to kill the Magic Knights twice, Zagato abandons her to her wounds. These are immediately fatal in the manga. In the anime, she survives them and has an emotional breakdown instead.
Ascot
Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English), Angelines Santana (Latin American Spanish, child), Humberto Amor (Latin American Spanish, adult)
One of Zagato's servants. Ascot is a young boy, and a Palu—a monster summoner. He's arrogant and self-centered, dismissive of Alcyone and mocking the Magic Knights. Zagato sends him to the underwater shrine that houses Seles, the first of the Mashin. Despite his brattiness, he does care about the monsters he summons.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Well, he would be adorable if he wasn't such a pill.
- Anger Born of Worry: Towards Umi in the second half.
- The Beastmaster: Summons and directs monsters in battle.
- Bratty Half-Pint: He's very dismissive of Alcyone's failure and mocks Hikaru and Fuu for falling to his monsters so easily.
- Creepy Child: Before his Heel–Face Turn.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Just because he has fearsome beasts as friends doesn't make him nor them evil.
- Defecting for Love: His feelings for Umi play a big part in getting him to perform a Heel–Face Turn. This works so well that by the second manga, he aged up because he developed a staggeringly obvious crush on her.
- Easily Forgiven: Especially in the anime, when he actually kills Presea. The girls seem to treat him as a child who's been manipulated and misled more than anything else, though, since he shows genuine care for his creatures and (in the anime) Caldina.
- Fluffy Tamer: He considers the fearsome monsters he summons to be his friends, which makes it difficult to find a place to live.
- He Is All Grown Up: Ascot is a little boy in the first part of the series, but when the Knights return to Cephiro in the second part, he's a handsome teenager tall enough to tower over the girls. Caldina says he "grew up" out of love for Umi, but he denies it.
- Love Redeems: His feelings for Umi lead him to try and help Cephiro.
- Moral Myopia: He sends his monsters to kill the Magic Knights—repeatedly in the anime. Then he gets upset and calls them murderers when the Knights kill his monsters in legitimate self-defense. And for his revenge he calls more monsters, which also get killed. Umi sets him straight.
- Never My Fault: Implied; he explains to Umi and the other girls that he works for Zagato because everyone else rejects him and his monsters and accuses them of causing trouble. When Umi asks if they do cause trouble, Ascot responds that they only do so when he explicitly tells them do.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Physically ages himself up between the first and second halves of the story out of his feelings for Umi.
- Summon Magic: For which he has the title of Palu.
- Taking the Bullet: Intercepts an attack for the Magic Knights when Caldina is fighting them in the anime. Since it wasn't lethal and hit his hover platform, he's okay. In the Saturn game it is lethal and Caldina is horrified at what she's done.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Honda Ascot.
Caldina
Voiced by: Yuko Nagashima (Japanese), Lenore Zann (English), Rocío Gallegos (Latin American Spanish), Gabriela de Marco (Latin American Spanish, Episode 33)
One of the assassins sent by Zagato to kill the Magic Knights. Caldina is a self-possessed dancer from a foreign land, and is far less concerned with Zagato's motivations than getting paid for her work.
- Ambiguously Brown: Turns out to be the skintone of Chizetans, who are loosely based on the Middle East.
- Battle Couple: While she is in love with Lafarga in both versions, the anime has them work as a team in battle when Debonair's monsterous minions invade Cephiro castle.
- Cool Big Sis: Particularly to Ascot in the anime. She takes this role towards the Magic Knights in the second half.
- Dance Battler: Partly this. She attacks with her hypnosis, but uses dancing moves to evade Fuu's sword.
- Defeat Means Friendship: She decides that Fuu and her friends are pretty cool, so she leaves them alone after Fuu breaks her enchantments. But she returns to help Cephiro in the second half.
- The Gambler: Ferio tricks her this way in the anime. He stays up all night playing cards with her—she wins, but it lets the Magic Knights slip through her fingers.
- Good Costume Switch: She exchanges her skimpy black dancing outfit for a white one. And ditches the cape.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Lafarga.
- Master of Illusion: Her favorite tactic is to hypnotize her targets and have them kill each other.
- Official Couple: With Lafarga, in the anime. It's hinted at in the manga, but not explicit.
- Only in It for the Money: Really the only reason she's fighting the Magic Knights at all.
- Proud Beauty: She's very proud of her "hot bod."
- Punch-Clock Villain: She's in it for the money, and quite happy to leave the Magic Knights alone when Fuu defeats her, since she was only obligated to try and stop them.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Her pride in her physical beauty is why she dresses skimpily.
- Shipper on Deck: Umi/Ascot fangirl.
- Southern Belle: The English dub of the anime goes with this method of localizing her Kansai accent.
- Squishy Wizard: Not very tough in the games, very archetypal mage character.
- Stripperiffic: Moreso than Alcione. Her outfit gets more revealing after she joins the good guys.
- Valley Girl: Tokyopop's translation of the manga had her talk like one in an attempt to depict an English-language equivalent to her Kansai accent in a print medium.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Toyota Caldina.
Innouva
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese), Terrence Stone (English), Ulises Cuadra (Latin American Spanish), Guillermo Romano (Latin American Spanish, true form)
Innouva is Zagato's number two. Rather than going out to fight the Magic Knights himself, he usually stays by Zagato's side and coordinates the Evil Minions, telling them where to go or to piss off as needed. Like Alcyone, he is fanatically loyal to Zagato and disregards the fate of Cephiro in favor of serving him. The reasons for this only become clear after Zagato's other servants fail to bring down the Magic Knights.
He does not appear in the original manga; his first appearance was in the animated series, and thus he also appears in works that are sourced mainly from that, namely the Sega Saturn game and Super Robot Wars T.
- Achilles' Heel: The gem on his forehead. He dies when Hikaru breaks it.
- Canon Foreigner: He was created for the anime and gets a significant role.
- Character Exaggeration: Although he's rather cutting and contemptuous towards Zagato's other minions, the Sega Saturn adaptation turns him into an enforcer of You Have Failed Me, and he's the one directly responsible for Lafarga being Brainwashed and Crazy.
- Disappears into Light: When defeated, he dissolves into a column of lightning.
- The Dragon: He is Zagato's right-hand man and called "Vice Commander."
- Elemental Shapeshifter: He appears to be the Elemental Embodiment of lightning in his true form.
- Go Out with a Smile: He dies, but is happy that he was able to serve Zagato.
- I Owe You My Life: It's implied that Innouva was not regarded too highly in Cephiro as a result of his true form. Zagato giving him some measure of dignity and self worth is what motivated Innouva to serve him in the first place.
- Inconsistent Spelling: A more extreme example than most of his castmates; the precise transliteration of his name can vary a lot from source to source. The kana for his name are イノーバ, which in standard Hepburn romanization work out to something like "Inohba"; the ノ is elongated, and there's no indication (either through digraphs or modern dakuten-marked U kana) to denote a V instead of a B. Nonetheless, CLAMP has indicated that the name is at least meant to contain a V as opposed to a B, but beyond this, it is chaos: "Inouva", "Innouva" and "Inova" have all been used in major publications and licensed works over the years.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: He threatens to kill Ferio unless Fuu promises to abandon her quest to become a Magic Knight. Fuu, being The Spock, reasons that it would be immoral, considering what her friends and Ferio himself have gone through. Her refusal proves her heart to Windam, who swiftly dispatches Inouva.
- Pointy Ears: An indicator that he is not really human.
- Sleep-Mode Size: He's a Canis Major in his normal mode, purposedly took the form of a Bishōnen to serve Zagato better and only stops doing so for his last battle.
- Subordinate Excuse: His devotion to Zagato borders on this. The fact that he's a canine creature might have something to do with it, too.
- Surrounded by Idiots: His opinion of Zagato's other servants is pretty low. And his diary entries in the Saturn game complain about how incompetent they are.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Honda Ascot Innova.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He takes the appearance of a young woman in Episode 15. Also, he's not really human.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Guess who's the only member of the Quirky Miniboss Squad the Magic Knights actually kill?
- White Hair, Black Heart: He's firmly in Zagato's camp. Later it turns out that he's not as evil as he seems - it was less out of pure evil and more out of My Master, Right or Wrong. Which makes a lot of sense for a canine who feels loyal to a human.
Nova
Voiced by: Miki Itō (Japanese), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English), Rebeca Rambal (Latin American Spanish)
Nova is a mysterious person who appears alongside Lady Debonair and is obsessed with Hikaru. She proclaims hatred of everything Hikaru loves and possesses a Mashin called Regalia, which is just as powerful as the Magic Knights'. Who she is and why she's so fixated on Hikaru is unclear, but she is extremely dangerous.- Berserk Button: Anyone who either gets between her and Hikaru or calls Debonair a liar in her presence.
- Canon Foreigner: Like Debonair, she was created for the anime's second season.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She wants Hikaru all to herself and won't hesitate to kill her friends in order to eliminate competition.
- Dark Action Girl: She is a sadistic and brutal fighter.
- Dark Magical Girl: All she wanted is just companionship, particularly from her original self. She got accidentally tossed aside due to Hikaru's guilt, and then also thrown away by Debonair. By the end of the series, Hikaru allowed her to re-merge with her, fixing her problems and redeeming her in the same time.
- Disc-One Final Boss: By the time Nova redeems herself and returns to Hikaru's heart, there's another villain the Magic Knights have to take down: Debonair. Though that happens at the start of the last episode, so there wasn't that much of a Disc Two.
- Dub Name Change: Called Luz in the Latin American dub.
- Enemy Without: She is Hikaru's despair and anguish in physical form.
- Evil Doppelgänger: Her resemblance to Hikaru is noted early on.
- Expy: Of Iczer-2, from Fight! Iczer-One, another anime directed by Toshiki Hirano, which Hirano even admits.
- Form-Fitting Wardrobe: A black catsuit with some armor pieces.
- Laser Blade: She wields a pair as her weapon of choice.
- Mind Rape: She attacks Hikaru while she was in a trance to repair her Escudo sword.
- Mirror Monster: In episode 45, as Hikaru looks into her mirror, the thoughtful expression on her reflection changes into a Slasher Smile, and her reflection emerges as none other than Nova, who then remains in the castle; after being repelled by Hikaru's amulet, Nova decides to seek out Lantis, leaving Hikaru with one of her minions.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: She wants to kill Hikaru's friends in order to eliminate competition.
- Playing with Fire: She uses fire-elemental spells like Hikaru.
- Pointy Ears
- Psycho Lesbian: She is constantly proclaiming her love for Hikaru and calls her cute. Then she says Hikaru's blood is especially cute as are her cries of pain. Though considering her true identity, it’s more of a case of Screw Yourself.
- Psychopathic Womanchild: She characterizes her attempts to murder Hikaru as "playing."
- Redemption Equals Death: After Hikaru makes her realize about how she wanted to be loved, Nova fades while returning to Hikaru's heart in an embrace.
- Reverse Shrapnel: One of her magic spells.
- Shadow Archetype: She's literally Hikaru's dark side.
- Shoulders of Doom: She has very wide pauldrons.
- Stalker with a Crush: "I'm right beside you!"
- Vehicular Theme Naming: She's named after the Chevrolet Nova.
- Yandere: She loves Hikaru and hates everything Hikaru loves because it keeps Hikaru from loving her and only her. Later justified in Debonair telling her that killing people who eventually make Hikaru sad is what she's supposed to do.
Lady Debonair
Voiced by: Atsuko Takahata (Japanese), Melodee Speevack (English), María Becerril (Latin American Spanish)
Lady Debonair first appears in Hikaru's nightmares as a tall, mysterious being. She claims to be "right beside" Cephiro and that the people wished for her, but she wishes to destroy the world and bring despair to everyone in it. She is also Nova's mother.- Abusive Mom: She adopted Nova and calls her daughter, but not only does she make Nova part of her plans (which seriously fucks up the girl more than she already is), but she abandons her late in the story while no hesitating to resort to friendly fire in an attempt to kill the Magic Knights.
- As Long as There Is Evil: Claims that she will never truly die because she came from the fears of Cephiro's people. A reasonable assumption until Hikaru decides to reshape the Pillar System.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the anime's second season.
- Brainwashing: What she does to Alcyone.
- Character Death: She dies at the hands of the Magic Knights.
- Canon Foreigner: She only appears in the anime. In the manga, Cephiro is crumbling away quite capably on its own. However:
- Canon Immigrant: She becomes a character in Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- in the form of the Kishim.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Where Zagato was a sympathetic Anti-Villain who just wanted Princess Emeraude to no longer be burdened by the Pillar System, even if it meant destroying Cephiro in the process, Debonair was just pure evil who had the destruction of Cephiro as her ultimate goal.
- Dark Is Evil: She wears all black and her skin is of a bluish tint—others subvert this trope, but not Debonair.
- Defeat Equals Explosion: Her body explodes after the Magic Knights fatally wound her.
- Evil Counterpart: She is essentially the anti-Pillar, a being that erodes the world rather than upholding it.
- Evil Laugh: All the time.
- Femme Fatalons: Good grief, they're about a foot long.
- Final Boss: In the anime's second season, she's the becomes the last threat that the Magic Knights have to encounter.
- The Heartless: She was born from the fear and despair in Cephiro's inhabitants.
- Hope Crusher: She's not just out for the physical world. She wants to utterly destroy any hope that the people of Cephiro have of salvation.
- Large Ham/Evil Is Hammy: Oh hell yeah! Those evil laughter of hers devours the scene a lot.
- Nietzsche Wannabe: Her goal is simply the complete destruction of Cephiro.
- Nightmare Face: Usually, she looks collected in a sinister way. But when she's excited or stymied, the serene look is replaced by something mad and disturbing.
- Orcus on His Throne: For much of season 2 she lurks in her own castle (which is an Evil Counterpart to Cephiro's castle) and occasionally sends out Nova, though it's not clear what sort of reality her castle exists in. However, she does possess Alcyone and infiltrates Cephiro's castle at one point in an attempt to steal the Mark of the Pillar.
- One-Winged Angel: During the final battle with the Magic Knights, she merges with the remains of the destoryed Regalia and turns it into a monstrous form to fight the Magic Knights' Mashin with.
- Outside-Context Problem: Clef and the others are primarily concerned with the invasion from the other countries. They don't even realize that Debonair is out there until Alcyone tells them.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: She's named after the Mitsubishi Debonair.
Walking Spoilers
Emeraude
Princess Emeraude
Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English), Erika Robledo (Latin American Spanish)
Emeraude is the Pillar of Cephiro. Her will and heart are the strongest in the land, and she is tasked with praying to keep the world peaceful and free of invaders. If she can't devote herself fully to her prayers, monsters and natural disasters spring up. This is exactly what happens when Zagato abducts her, and she summons the Magic Knights from another world to save Cephiro.
Except that last sentence isn't quite true. What actually happened was that Emeraude fell in love with Zagato, dividing her heart and compromising her duty. She entered the Water Dungeon in an effort to forget about him, but when this failed she summoned the Magic Knights to kill her before she could harm Cephiro any further. Zagato joined her there to try and dissuade her and to protect her from them.
- Barrier Maiden: As the Pillar. She prevents both internal strife and shields Cephiro from its expansionist neighbors.
- Betty and Veronica: She's the Betty to Alcyone's Veronica towards Zagato.
- Big "NO!": Lets out an agonized "NO!" after the Magic Knights kill her beloved Zagato followed by screaming his name.
- Broken Bird: As far as the audience knows, she's been imprisoned and forced to watch as Zagato not only lets the country fall to ruin, but repeatedly tries to kill the people she summoned to save it. Actually, it's because she's so torn between her love for Cephiro and Zagato that she sees her own death as the only solution, and heavily blames herself for the state both her land and her beloved are in.
- Damsel in Distress: Subverted, since she entered the dungeon she's "imprisoned" in of her own free will due to her conflicted feelings. Zagato, her supposed kidnapper, is really there because of his love for her; they spend most of their time trying to persuade the other to stop what they're doing. She summons the Magic Knights not because she needs to be rescued, but to kill her before her feelings for Zagato compromise her duty as the Pillar and Cephiro falls into ruin.
- Died Happily Ever After: At the end of season 1, she is finally with Zagato, happily forever and ever.
- Evil Me Scares Me: She's terrified of what she'll become if she gives in to her feelings for Zagato—for very good reason, as it turns out.
- Final Boss: When the Magic Knights go to "free" her, she's already transformed into her One-Winged Angel form. They are rather horrified to learn the truth from Esmeraude herself.
- Fatal Flaw: Her tendency to take on burdens alone doesn't do favors for anyone. Mokona states that she could have ended the Pillar system herself, but she didn't quite believe in Cephiro's people to let them understand her burden.
- Go Out with a Smile: Exaggerated. Upon dying, she is joyful, because her death prevents her from destroying Cephiro and allows her to be with Zagato.
- Gratuitous Princess: Emeraude's position is the protector of Cephiro, but she's called a princess anyway. Except that being the Pillar completely sucks in the end.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A blonde-haired princess who looks childlike and delicate, in need of rescue and upholding Cephiro with the strength of her pure, selfless prayers. Until she falls in love with Zagato. She's still kind and gentle, but is horribly torn between her desires and her duty.
- Healing Hands: Seems to be one of her powers as the Pillar. She is seen using it on Zagato's injured arm in the anime.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: The Pillar cannot harm herself, nor can anyone in Cephiro. Thus, she summons the Magic Knights so they'll kill her, allow Cephiro to have a new pillar, and be with Zagato after his death.
- Lady and Knight: With Zagato.
- Love Makes You Evil: Poor Emeraude loses it when Zagato dies despite all of her efforts, this giving birth to her Broken Bird-like Superpowered Evil Side.
- Older Alter Ego: Subverted. She has the form of an adult woman after Zagato is killed- but adulthood is Emeraude's true form, and the child form was a disguise based on how she looked like when she ascended to Pillarhood.
- Older Than She Looks: Looks like a pre-teen girl despite being already an adult, and possibly nearly as old as Clef to boot.
- One-Winged Angel: When Zagato is killed, she takes the form of an adult woman (or better said, makes herself grow to the physical age she would have had if she wasn't the Pillar) and creates a Mashin of her own.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When Zagato dies, she loses it.
- Say My Name: After the death of her beloved, all she can do is scream his name in grief.Emeraude: Zagato! Zagato! ZAGATO!
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With Zagato. The fact that she earnestly loved someone else (and not Cephiro) for even a fleeting moment meant that Cephiro will fall into ruin, no matter what she thought or felt about it. They do get to stay Together in Death.
- Stepford Smiler: Ferio mentions that when they were growing up, he never saw her give a genuinely happy smile; though she'd often appear to be smiling, her eyes were always sad.
- Suicide by Cop: This is the real reason why she summoned the Magic Knights from another world, since it's impossible for the Pillar of Cephiro to take their own life and nobody in Cephiro can harm them.
- Tender Tears: She's weeping in most of her appearances thanks to her screwed-up destiny.
- Unstable Powered Woman: Her fear of becoming this is why she summoned the Magic Knights to kill her, as she doesn't want Cephiro to be destroyed due to her increasing instability as Pillar. When Zagato dies, she descends into madness and forces the Knights to kill her.
- Using You All Along: The actual reason she summoned the Magic Knights to Cephiro was to kill her, with saving Cephiro being a byproduct of her death. She deliberately leaves that part out when initially telling the Magic Knights to "Save Cephiro."
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Mitsubishi Emeraude.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: She tells the Magic Knights that it's within her power to destroy Cephiro. After spending the whole manga uselessly pleading with Zagato to stop his destructive and self-destructive course, seeing him die by the people she'd summoned to kill her, it's no wonder she's been crying the whole time.
Sierra
Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese), Mari Devon (English), Gabriela León (Latin American Spanish)
Sierra appears in the second season of the anime. She is Presea's twin sister, and in addition to appearance shares her skill in smithing. She poses as her sister at Clef's request, making up a story that Presea was revived with Emeraude's last wish so that the girls and Ascot aren't shattered any more than they already are. Although she is genuinely fond of them, the prolonged masquerade takes a toll on her.
- Angsty Surviving Twin: She's still mourning her sister while pretending to be her and unable to let any hint of her true identity slip. It gets worse when she realizes that she's fallen in love with Clef, just like Presea.
- Backup Twin: She takes Presea's place (and identity) as blacksmith and Cool Big Sis for the Magic Knights.
- Becoming the Mask: She's not happy about this, especially when she realizes that she's in love with Clef just like Presea was.
- The Blacksmith: An excellent one, although not quite as good as her sister. She can repair Escudo weapons, but she can't forge them herself.
- Broken Bird: Having to take her twin sister's place in every sense is not the best for her self-esteem.
- Canon Foreigner: Since Presea was dead in the anime but alive in the manga, there was quite the case of Schrödinger's Cast.
- Cool Big Sis: To the Magic Knights, like her sister.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: One on her right breast. The only difference between Presea and her.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: The aforementioned scar on her right breast, which her late twin sister lacked.
- Miss Fixit: She is able to fix just about any weapon, even those made from Escudo.
- The Unreveal: The girls never find out who she really is.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Ford Sierra.
- Wrench Wench: Presea creates weapons, Sierra mantains and repairs them.
Mokona
Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (All versions)
In the manga, he eventually reveals himself to be the Creator of Cephiro, Earth, and the other nations trying to seize Cephiro. He created the Pillar System after his disappointment with the mess that became of Earth, but Hikaru convinces him that there's a middle path between chaos and putting it all on one person's shoulders.
In the anime, he reveals himself to be... nothing at all. He's just a big marshmallow with a knack for breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass.
- Author Avatar: For Mokona, one of CLAMP's authors.
- Bag of Holding: Kind of. He can conjure anything from his forehead jewel, from a well-furnished tent to a flying platform to food. Which makes a lot of sense in the manga when it's revealed that he created everything.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The girls speculate about the substance of his body and in a bonus comic, find out that he doesn't eat anything.
- But Now I Must Go: At the end of the manga, Mokona leaves Cephiro together with the Mashin, seeing as, without a Pillar, the latter are no longer needed.
- Eyes Always Shut: If he has eyes.
- God Was My Co-Pilot: In the manga, Mokona is revealed to be the Creator of Cephiro, Earth, and the Three Countries.
- King of All Cosmos: Again, manga version only. He's immensely powerful but makes a hobby of wrecking people's offices, pissing off Umi, and shipping the Magic Knights.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Although what species you could call him is unclear.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Most of the time he acts like a happy go lucky ditz, much to Umi's eternal consternation. But in episode 14 he's visibly disturbed at the amount of blood Hikaru is losing as she charges through the thorny forest, and then knocks her away from the Light Monster. Even if he's not explicitly God in the anime, he's a lot more on the ball than he appears.
- The Omnipotent: He's basically God so he can do many diverse and amazing things. He Took Lantis's sword blows and blocked them with a barrier like they were nothing, sucked up two giant mechs into his mouth like he was eating popcorn, caused Earth to literally stop in a time-frozen mode, created many planets including Earth and Cephiro, and later Clamp series even implies he created other dimensions and universes (including said Clamp series).
- Outsourcing Fate: Emeraude's case made him dissatisfied with the system he'd created and allows Hikaru to change it when she becomes the Pillar.
- Power Gives You Wings: He sprouts angelic-looking wings when he reveals his true identity.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Hikaru and Fuu are delighted with him. (Umi not so much.)
- Series Mascot: He is basically a fuzzy egg with stubby limbs.
- She's a Man in Japan: The Latin American dub of the anime explicitly refers to Mokona as a "she".
- Shipper on Deck: He makes sure to pair Umi with Ascot, Fuu with Ferio, and Hikaru with Lantis on the scouting trip in the second half.
- Team Pet: He is a useful one, though.
- Troll: He really enjoys bothering people with a Hair-Trigger Temper. Presea, Umi, and Primera are his favorite targets.
- The Unintelligible: All he ever says is "Puu!" (Fortunately, Hikaru seems able to understand him.)
- Eventually reveals he can speak intelligibly through telepathy.
Zagato
Zagato
Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (Japanese), Lex Lang (English), Juan Zadala (Latin American Spanish)
The villain of part one. Zagato abducted Princess Emeraude, stopping her prayers for Cephiro and plunging the land into chaos. Although he keeps her locked in the Water Dungeon and sends out his servants to stop the Magic Knights, he doesn't seem to have any interest in actually ruling.
This is because he didn't kidnap Emeraude at all—he's deeply in love with her and is trying to prevent her Suicide by Cop by killing the Magic Knights before they get there. Ultimately, all of his efforts fail and he dies in battle against them.
- Anti-Villain: But he only hints at a motivation other than For the Evulz when the Magic Knights actually fight him, making oblique statements about the Pillar System. They don't get the whole story until they meet Emeraude herself.
- In Super Robot Wars T, he intended to evacuate the inhabitants of Cephero to other worlds, making him even less villanous.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the first half.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: Subverted. The High Priest's job was to safeguard the Pillar and her prayers, and he is actually still trying to protect her!
- Bodyguard Crush: On Emeraude, who loved him back.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He may have been defeated by the Magic Knights, but all there is left is Emeraude.
- Evil Sorceror: His magical power rivals Clef; none of the warriors from Cephiro who tried to stop him survived the encounter.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Jurota Kosugi and Lex Lang give him this kind of voice.
- Good All Along: Not good, per se, as he did many evil things (starting with attempting to murder three schoolgirls). But he was hardly the Evil Overlord that he was made out to be and he's a much more sympathetic figure after The Reveal.
- Go Out with a Smile: Downplayed. In the anime, he smiled serenely while saying his Last Request as the Magic Knights' combined attack annihilated him and his mashin.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Emeraude. Subverted in that Emeraude was disguising herself as a child (probably to avoid tempting and being tempted)- in her true adult form, she is almost his same height.
- Humongous Mecha: He creates his own Mashin for the battle with the Magic Knights.
- Lady and Knight: With Princess Emeraude.
- Lack of Empathy: He doesn't even look at Alcyone when she clings to him, dying of her wounds — and even allows her to die in the manga. And he professes not to care about the fate of Cephiro. He only cares about Emeraude and her happiness.
- Last Request: Just one sentence. "Emeraude... be free."
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: His hair is the same length as his height.
- Love Makes You Evil: In terms what he actually wanted, subverted heavily, though his actions to achieve said goal hurt and kill many.
- Manipulative Bastard: He's aware of Alcyone's affections and uses them to his advantage, and gains Ascot's support by saying that he'll be able to live with his monsters in peace.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: When the Magic Knights are summoned to Cephiro, his first and only idea to make sure they don't kill Emeraude, instead of trying to explain his reasons and how terrible the Pillar system is, is to send his minions to kill them. If he had at least tried to explain what was really going on, maybe things wouldn't have degenerated as much as they ended up doing.
- Obviously Evil: A sorcerer in black robes, with Shoulders of Doom, who sends out minions to kill a trio of young girls and abandons them when they fail. It's very easy for the girls to assume that he's a garden-variety RPG villain.
- Only Sane Man: He was the only one who questioned the Pillar System enough to try and do something about it.
- Orcus on His Throne: He doesn't go anywhere, instead sending out his lieutenants, and the Magic Knights eventually come to him.
- Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: He tells Emeraude that he loves her in the final episodes of season 1, but the viewers don't get to hear it—though Alcyone does. In the dub, he can be heard, though.
- Teleport Spam: He ambushes Lafarga this way.
- Vehicular Theme Naming: After the Italian coachbuilder, Zagato.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Even before he turned into the Big Bad, Zagato still disagreed heavily with the whole Pillar system, therefore he wanted to tear it down to save his beloved Emeraude from pretty much commiting assisted suicide.
- Would Hurt a Child: He acknowledges that the Magic Knights are children, but doesn't hesitate to send his servants to kill them.
