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Characters from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin and its ONA adaptation. For the 1979 series Mobile Suit Gundam, see here.


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Earth Federation

White Base

    Amuro Ray 

Voiced by: Tōru Furuya (JP), Lucien Dodge (EN)

Main mecha: RX-78-02 Gundam

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

The son of the Gundam's designer, Tem Ray, Amuro is a 15-year-old engineering prodigy who spends more time with machines than humans. Climbing into the Gundam's cockpit in an attempt to fight a war that's suddenly hit too close to home, he finds himself serving as the White Base's main line of defense — and struggling mightily with life as a soldier. Introverted, sensitive, headstrong, and initially caring only about his own survival, Amuro eventually comes to realise that other people matter too.


  • Adaptational Badass:
    • The Gundam's armament is a lot heavier in the series than in the original with more vulcans on the chest near the shoulders and an optional shoulder cannon.
    • Played With during his confrontation with the Z'Gok. In the original, Amuro cut through an entire squadron of Acguys before fighting and beating Char's Z'Gok. Here he only fights Char but does it in a GM, a mech who's performance is overall lower than the Gundam's.
  • Adaptational Dye-Job: Whether you want to count it as brown, reddish-brown, or the much lighter and brighter red Yas tends to draw him with, Amuro's hair is different from his very dark red of the original series. Probably because his eyes are now teal, not black. It's almost enough to count as a Race Lift.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: Amuro's kinder moments from the original are generally cut in favor of him being unhappy about something. The Origin turns his original highly-passionate (and often, quite sweet) attitude into a lot of 'sullen, dull, out of touch', and the "whiny" he's always been accused of. Never better demonstrated then when he fights with Frau Bow and makes her cry, then tries to continue being nasty to Sayla. The animated version of The Origin makes him much closer to his original 1979 self.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Frau Bow was his Only Friend in the original series; they understood each other pretty well, worked together smoothly and were quite close. She still arguably is in the manga, but they haven't known each other nearly as long and it shows in the way they now argue, sometimes seriously.
  • Adaptational Wimp: The entire infamous 'Brightslap' scene. Originally, Amuro cocks his fists after getting hit and is infuriated with Bright. In The Origin, he just looks shocked and wants to be left alone.
  • But I Read a Book About It: In this version, he hacked his dad's computer to learn about the Gundam rather than having the iconic manual fall on him during the attack on Side 7.
  • Covert Pervert: He goes from being shocked and startled by Mirai's bra in the original series to Perverted Sniffing with a pair of Matilda's discarded panties in Yas's manga, even if it's presented in a more serious and worshipful way.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade:
    • In Volume 4 the Gundam arrives at Jaburo and receives a number of upgrades, even getting a new pair of shoulders akin to the Ground Type Gundam and having the arm and chest vulcans stripped out. The biggest change has him receive the iconic Beam Rifle to replace the bulky early model that he initially wielded.
    • In Volume 10 the Gundam gets a much-needed upgrade after being defeated by Char's Gelgoog. Its joints are engineered around electro-magnets (thus making friction almost nonexistent and making it faster), numerous verniers are added (some placed where the vulcans were), and the backpack receives an upgrade. The Gundam is much more maneuverable and faster in space combat afterward.
  • Not What It Looks Like: The ONA adds a scene where after meeting Amuro's Nice Girl friend Frau Bow outside his house, Tem Ray comes in to find 13-year-old Amuro in his undershirt and boxers. Tem's disbelieving at the cluelessness of having had mixed teenage company like that rather than accusing him of doing anything, though.
  • Strapped to an Operating Table: Due to the military's Newtype testing, not long after White Base reaches Jaburo, he winds up in this situation. He's unconscious for the examination and doesn't remember it afterwards. By the scientists and doctors' own admission it would have gone into They Would Cut You Up territory, were it not for the fact that he's the best pilot the Federation has for the Gundam. They also mention he's liable to psychosis.
  • Teen Genius: His prodigy status as a Gadgeteer Genius is originally downplayed in The Origin continuity. In the original continuity he was Haro's inventor, and sold its design after the war. In The Origin manga it was a toy created by Anaheim Electronics and Amuro simply made some improvements to its AI. Restored in the animation, where there's nothing saying Amuro didn't invent Haro.
  • Unwitting Test Subject: After his Newtype examination, Amuro's given a vial of something like anabolic steroids for 'performance-boosting'. He has no idea what's in it and isn't particularly interested, but the medically-experienced Sayla takes one look at the pills and tells him to ditch them.

    Sayla Mass 

Voiced by: Megumi Han (JP), Colleen Villard (EN)

Main mecha: GM

"Big brother? Casval?"
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_11_08_at_71909_pm.png

A 17-year-old medical student from Side 7, Sayla is initially in charge of White Base's communications before graduating to pilot status. She is frequently partnered with Amuro during the latter stages of the war, and the two of them share a good working relationship. She also has some sort of connection to Zeon ace Char Aznable, which is explored over the course of the series in depth. Cool, controlled, and nearly unflappable, Sayla frequently acts as the voice of reason among the ship's crew.


  • The Ace: From shooting or driving anything to piloting her own mobile suit, there's almost nothing this version of Sayla doesn't do.
  • Adaptational Badass: The original Gundam had her develop her combat skills throughout their time on earth while here she's had to learn to fight and fire a gun from before the war. Sayla's development as a pilot is also a lot smoother in this version of the story. Her most absurdly reckless act (grabbing the Gundam and going out alone with next to no idea on how to handle it which nearly gets her killed by Ramba Ral) is cut and she goes through all of the standard tests and procedures to learn how to pilot. She's also promoted to an MS pilot in this version and gets her own Custom GM that she pilots during the finale.
  • Ascended Extra: While Sayla was always an important character here her role is elevated to one of the leads alongside Amuro and Char. When the flashback arc hits her importance increases significantly as her backstory is filled in and post-flashback she's given much more to do as she pilots her own GM and has her own arc where she uses her status to disrupt the Zeon ranks.
  • Death Glare: Gives some terrifying ones, usually to Kai.
  • The Exile: Escaped Side 3 with her older brother when she was 6. Unlike him, she never goes back. (By contrast to him, it might be a good thing.)
  • Happily Adopted: Sayla's childhood was always full of danger with the loss of her parents and the relentless pursuit by the Zabis. In spite of this, she did find a semblance of happiness with her adopted father Teabolo Mass.
  • Heroic Bastard: According to Yas, her parents never married. More than simply that, her father never divorced his wife and her mother was always The Mistress.
  • Identical Stranger: Sayla seemed to be developing a little crush on her nice, handsome neighbor at Texas Colony who helped her ride, and who looked exactly like her big brother — at least, before he turned into a loud, proud Gihren Zabi supporter. Whether it was a potentially... interesting crush or just transferring admiration and little sister Hero Worship, we don't know; what we do know is Sayla later had to spend years trying to verify that "Char" was her brother.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: Even after having to flee her home and leave her mother, her beloved black cat Lucifer still accompanied her to Earth and back into space again. In yet another Trauma Conga Line, he dies of old age shortly after she learns about her mother's death and right before her brother abandons her.
  • Morality Pet: As opposed to her despair about failing at this during the original series, The Origin does make her this to her brother, before he left her. Or at least screaming at him got him not to kill one person, once.
  • The Outside World: Side 3 has "closed" colonies with no windows, so it's not merely due to being Sheltered Aristocrats that neither she nor her brother ever saw the Sun, Moon, Earth or stars before they left home. It's treated as a moment of complete wonder.
  • Refuge in Audacity: She actually pulls the "Tell them Artesia has returned!" card to get out of being captured at A Baoa Qu. Not only is she believed, she gains quite a following.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: She's shown to be more open and warmer in her youth. Then during the Battle of Loum, a group of pro-Federation hooligans invaded Texas Colony, where she lived, and between having to take up arms in that fight and having a prime seat at the destruction of Loum she's the Ice Queen we meet at the start of the series.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: With her brother. He's flashy, sociable and unprincipled. Sayla's cautious, reserved, and strictly moral. Even as children, he was unemotional while she was warm and open.
  • Took a Level in Badass: From running for her life and needing her big brother's protection to a crack shot and Ace Pilot. You Go, Girl!.
  • Trauma Conga Line: She goes through not one but two protracted ones in the OVA.
    • First is when her mother dies not long after she relocates to the Texas Colony, which is followed by the death of her cat and Casval abandoning her. She then thinks he was killed when the ship he was supposed to be on was destroyed.
    • Already swamped with work as a nurse, Tachi O'Hara informs her that Casval might still be alive and to "look for the red mobile suit". This ends up opening the old wound for her, but before she could get any more details she was recalled to Texas Colony when Roger Aznable tells her that Teabolo's health took a turn for the worse. The colony then erupts in violence as anti-Zeon rioters attack innocent civilians. This was when she dropped her pacifistic ways and picks up a rifle to start shooting to kill all those that would threaten her home, only to find out that Teabolo died during the night due to panic from all the chaos. With the Aznables having already left to find Char (and, unbeknownst to them, killed when the port was destroyed by "Char"), Sayla was left alone in the world. Then the final thing she sees is the "red mobile suit" that Tachi mentioned, watching her from outside the colony walls. But instead of coming down to say anything, Char leaves, leaving Sayla running after him again like she did when he first left.

    Bright Noa 

Voiced by: Ken Narita (JP), Christopher Corey Smith (EN)

"You can't be a real man without taking a few lumps!"

A 25-year old Lieutenant Junior Grade, Bright is forced to take command of the White Base when everyone higher-ranking ends up dead. The strain of doing so, coupled with his naturally aloof personality, leaves Bright in a state of constant stress and irritation, even as he slowly matures into a fine commanding officer. He has a very rocky relationship with Amuro and the rest of the White Base's pilots.


  • A Father to His Men: It takes a while, but he eventually becomes this to the White Base crew.
  • Aloof Big Brother: To the White Base crew and especially Amuro, pre Character Development.
  • Badass Normal: Has no Newtype powers until he develops a limited sensitivity shortly before A Baoa Qu. Still the best captain in all of the UC verse.
  • Cannot Spit It Out: To Mirai. Somewhat justified because trying to keep everyone alive is an enormous preoccupation, but it costs him when he doesn't seem to return her interest, and she then goes for Sleggar instead.
  • The Captain: Although he doesn't actually hold that rank at first. Reflecting this, everybody in the crew continues to call him "Mr. Bright", rather than "Captain".
  • Control Freak: He has aspects of this early on, but they slowly fade away. It's pretty understandable, given the circumstances.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Ends up as this to Mirai. With the death of his rival, it works.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: A very, very downplayed case, developing a limited level of Newtype sensitivity shortly before A Baoa Qu and carrying it forward into Zeta Gundam.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: With the entire crew, especially Amuro.
  • Freak Out: Unlike the original version, he tends to lose his cool very easily, and is often left with no output for it.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Former Trope Namer for the infamous Bright Slap.
  • The Good Captain: Once he figures out what it involves, he really tries.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Whenever Mirai shows any interest in anybody else. To his credit, he largely keeps it to himself.
  • Heroic BSoD: In the series, he utterly breaks down when his best friend Ryu dies.
  • Improbable Age: A ship captain who isn't even twenty yet. Justified as he's the only ranking officer they have left-and he's surprised himself when, once they arrive at Jaburo, he gets confirmed in command rather than pushed back to XO of a new captain.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Makes a very noble and touching speech to Mirai near the end telling her to go to Sleggar because she's too worried and distracted, otherwise — but that he'll always be there for her.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The level of stress that he's under does very bad things to Bright's social skills. He means well, but he's snappish, slappish, short-tempered, and originally thinks the only way to consolidate his position is by violence, volume, and not giving too much of a damn about anyone's feelings. The "Heart of Gold" part is mostly just "his fundamental decency".
  • Love Triangle: For a significant interlude, Bright—> Mirai—> Sleggar.
  • Meaningful Name: As in "Noah's ark".
  • Rank Up: A newly recruited Ensign Newbie in the original anime, he's been elevated to a commissioned Lieutenant Junior Grade in The Origin. In-Universe, he's promoted to full Lieutenant at Jaburo. Protocol dictates that his actions would earn him a two-rank promotion; however, he is only promoted one rank on account of his young age.
  • Ship Tease: With Mirai.
  • Skintone Sclerae: Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
  • Supporting Leader: Amuro is The Hero of the series, but in practice Bright is the one handling the rest regarding the Base.
  • Team Dad: To the White Base crew, after Character Development.
  • Took a Level in Badass: As he grows into his role as captain.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: As the series progresses he mellows, loses the worst of his Control Freak tendencies, and builds a working relationship with Amuro, Kai, Sayla, and the rest of the pilots.
  • Was Too Hard on Him: Nope. ("Hate me if you want, I don't care.") Bright is very firmly about the needs of the many and sees whatever he does as necessary. It falls to Ryu or Mirai to bring this up from time-to-time.
  • Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Seriously, Bright? (Makes a little more sense when you realize akarui mirai is Japanese for "bright future".)
  • You Are in Command Now: After Captain Paolo dies. It ain't easy on him.

    Frau Bow 

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (JP), Alyson Rosenfeld (EN)

"Amuro! You forgot to eat breakfast again..."

Amuro's friend from Side 7, 15-year-old Frau Bow does her best to keep him grounded in reality. Taking several noncombatant roles aboard White Base, she ends in charge of the ship's communications. Steadfast, kind, and loyal, Frau cares about Amuro and wants to support him, hoping the war won't take him beyond her reach.


  • Adaptational Dye-Job: Yas gave her plain brown hair instead of the reddish shade she sported in the original series. Subverted in the ONA, where her hair is once again auburn and brighter than Amuro's, like before.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: Yas stated he wanted to make Frau into "a real girl". In The Origin it seems to involve taking away everything that made her admirable in the original series – Frau's only known Amuro for nine months and they aren't nearly as close; her grace under fire and maturity is gone; Haro wasn't specifically built for her, and she's more shrill, a much bigger nag, and calls Amuro stupid. Like most things, the ONA version is closer to 1979, even deliberately showing their relationship in 0077.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: She and Amuro go from being very close friends in the original series to only knowing each other for less than a year in the manga and being abrasive and awkward around each other. Yas even describes her as his "girlfriend", as in 'friend who's a girl', rather than the older "childhood friend".
  • Adaptational Ugliness: In the manga. Frau is deliberately far less of the cute girl from the original show, with Yas giving her a rounder, flatter face and darker, duller hair. (She's also frequently used as the focus of comedy.) Restored in the animation, where she's much closer to the original.
  • Berserk Button: Don't make fun of her relationship with Amuro, don't use her Embarrassing Nickname, don't turn your surroundings into a disaster zone when she just cleaned the night before, Amuro... The manga version of her is more temperamental and has a few.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The animated version now has her civilian outfit as a yellow mini-skirt and jacket with a blue turtleneck — the inverse of what Amuro wears.
  • Curtains Match the Window: She had auburn hair and brown eyes in the original show, but they didn't match to the degree they do in the ONA.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: She gets called "Old Lady Bow".
  • Men Act, Women Are:
    • Although it seems to apply only to her, not Sayla, Mirai, Kycilia or Hamon. The very first version of Frau didn't want to join the military, but did it anyway and received an E-3 rank. Yas's version stays with the crew as an exempted medical volunteer.
    • In the Amuro 0082 epilogue, the fact that Hayato plans to marry her (and begs Amuro not to "interfere" to the point of prostrating himself) is only discussed between him... and Amuro. Frau never mentions anything about the matter or her future at all.
  • Not as You Know Them: Yas's manga version. Subverted by the ONA.
  • Prone to Tears: In the original series, Frau cried a couple of times or teared up when there was something extremely serious going on. Yas portrays her as this, instead. It's nastily lampshaded by Amuro near the end of The Origin.
  • Relationship Upgrade: Downplayed in the flashback arc, when the trauma of the first week of the war leads her to call him "Amuro" afterwards, instead of her original and more distant "Amuro-kun".
  • Unfortunate Name: Instead of "wife" or "mature woman", The Origin treats her name like this, going with "old lady" and having her mocked for it by Kai and others.

    Kai Shiden 

Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa (JP), Kevin T. Collins (EN)

Main mecha: RX-77 Guncannon

"Dead people don't get pensions."

A 17-year-old civilian from Side 7, Kai is an abrasive young man with a mean streak, and little respect for authority. Recruited into serving as the pilot of the Guncannon mobile suit, Kai constantly gripes and complains about the increasingly dangerous situations that the White Base is thrust into. Despite this, he proves himself to be a capable soldier, and eventually (after a rocky start) becomes good friends with Amuro.


  • Ace Pilot: Reaches this status fairly early on, though you'd never know it from his attitude.
  • Badass Normal: Despite a complete lack of Newtype powers (beyond the baseline sensitivity that the whole crew develops by A Baoa Qu), he's arguably the most reliable pilot on the White Base's roster.
  • Broken Bird: Another male example, and especially after Miharu's death.
  • Brutal Honesty: Kai does not sugarcoat his words.
  • Character Development: Tragic as Miharu's death was, it definitely caused Kai to become a better person, and a better fighter.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Kai shoots enemies from behind, blasts them repeatedly to make sure they are dead, gangs up on lone foes with Hayato, and on one occasion, pushed an unsuspecting opponent off a cliff. He's an ambusher, through and through.
  • Commander Contrarian: Kai is fully aware of how screwed they are, and doesn't mind sharing it, especially when it's time to plan.
  • Cowardly Lion: Emphasis on the 'lion' bit. His cowardice mostly consists of incessant grumbling and a 10-Minute Retirement whilst the White Base was safely docked in port - otherwise, he's typically amongst the first into the fray, and serves as a very reliable (if abrasive) soldier throughout the One Year War.
  • The Cynic: About twelve layers deep, over a slightly more fragile and nicer core. But mostly this.
  • Dangerous Deserter: Ends up endangering the people he meets in Belfast and the people he's left behind, though it's not with any real intent or malice.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Constantly, much to his crewmates' annoyance.
  • The Eeyore: Apparently incapable of looking on the bright side about anything.
  • Face of a Thug: Kai is not an attractive young man. Luckily for him, he has other talents.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: With Amuro, Sayla, and Hayato.
  • Foil: To Char, of all people. Kai's a punk and a nobody; Char's an ace officer with every advantage society has to offer, but they're both highly amoral nihilists with red mobile suits, sneaky tactics and no particular loyalty to the sides they're on, casual betrayals included. Kai, however, meets a desperate girl and has his eyes opened a bit to the realities of war for everyone, as well as gradually gaining powerful ties of friendship and family to the people he serves with — very different to Char's lonely agendas of bloodlust and vengeance. Importantly, Kai is also capable of genuine remorse. You Are What You Hate, but it's fairly significant that in most other continuities (the novel, the sequel, even the newest manga retelling of the sequel), Kai is the one who refuses to cooperate with Char.
  • The Gadfly: Early on in the series he often phrases his words in a way to deliberately get under everyone's skin. After his character development his remarks feel more like playful teasing.
  • Glass Cannon: Guncannon is a powerful artillery suit and almost as agile as Gundam, but it can't take a hit nearly as well.
  • Hypocrite: In a painful Psychological Projection, Kai goes on repeatedly at one point about Amuro likely selling White Base out to Zeon. Guess what's the first thing he does after jumping ship.
  • Intrepid Reporter: The epilogue details Kai beginning his career as a reporter, setting him up for his role as the post war investigative journalist that he was in the UC proper.
  • Japanese Delinquents: In some continuities the prior heavy machinery experience that allowed him to qualify as a mobile suit pilot was being a bosouzoku who used to street race with trucks.
  • Jerkass —> Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He begins as a cowardly, snarky jerk and kinda The Friend Nobody Likes. Later he's still a snarky jerk, but his heart of gold shines through.
  • Journey to Find Oneself: After the One Year War, Kai is struggling to find a purpose in his life, aimlessly going from job to job. Though operating as a journalist in Artesia 0083 as a cover story to make contact with Sayla on behalf of Bright, Kai's efforts are half-hearted at best. On the other hand, Kai begins to seriously consider becoming a journalist for real by the story's end.
  • The Lancer: To Amuro, with his cynicism nicely complementing the former's idealism.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Played With
    • Averted in Volume 4 he gains the "Cannon Zaku," a repurposing of a Zaku with the Guncannon's head attached. The MS is very shoddy, with the Federation and Zeon tech not necessarily blending as well as they should. It's only weapon is the Guncannon's beam rifle and it only destroys a Magellan tank before being felled by a Zaku I.
    • Played Straight post-Jaburo where the White Base is given the top-of-the-line Guncannon. It's design is more streamlined, its performance is better, and it has five fingers instead of the three-clawed old design.
  • More Dakka: When all else fails, firing the Guncannon's Shoulder Cannons on full auto usually gets Kai out of jams.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Being on a team with Amuro will do that to you.
  • Phrase Catcher: "Kai, enough."
  • The Resenter: Like Hayato, he's this to Amuro. He gets over it a lot faster.
  • Right Behind Me: Lt. Matilda, just when he's talking about her as his ideal girlfriend.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In Northern Ireland. It only lasts overnight.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Not to the same degree as Amuro, but Miharu's death does some very bad things to him.
  • Shoulder Cannon: The Guncannon has two mounted on its shoulders. It's still the trope image. Kai temporarily pilots an upgraded Guncannon with Missile Pods rather than cannons but ultimately returns to the cannons in space.
  • Sour Supporter: For a guy as cranky and pessimistic as he is, he's a remarkably helpful member of the crew.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: (With Miharu. Snifffff....)
  • Took a Level in Badass: Becomes a notably better pilot after Miharu's death, even downing a fair few enemy suits of his own and reaching Ace Pilot status. Not to mention his colorful career as a sleuth and journalist after the war.
  • Welcome Back, Traitor: We're so deep into the war at this point that Kai doesn't even get any time in the brig, let alone any interrogation for harboring a spy on-board or passing information to her.
  • Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Alternates between being genuinely intimidated by Sayla and this.

    Hayato Kobayashi 

Voiced by: Hideki Nakanishi (JP), Kyle McCarley (EN)

Main mecha: Guntank, Guncannon, Ball

"It's just like my judo sensei taught me..."

One of Amuro and Frau Bow's neighbours from Side 7, 15-year-old Hayato serves in a number of positions on the White Base, acting as the pilot of the Guntank, and as a spare gunner when the situation demands. Possessing an unfortunate tendency towards insecurity, he deeply resents Amuro for doing things better than him.


  • Action Survivor: Not a hugely skilled pilot (though being stuck with the awkward, primitive Guntank doesn't help), but being a front-line soldier throughout the One Year War and coming back alive every time is an achievement in itself.
  • Adaptational Badass: Hayato has much more success in the Guntank here than in the original. Notably he helps defeat Gadem and Tachi's Zaku I's with it, conflicts that were originally Amuro's in the series.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Hayato's jealousy of Amuro is tweaked a bit to humanize him rather than generate conflict. Most of his petulance is stripped away as Hayato expresses a lot of shame at his inability to fight as well as Amuro, Kai, or Sayla.
  • The Big Guy: Inverted - he knows his martial arts, but is the shortest of the group.
  • Can't Catch Up: Hayato tries his hardest and constantly throws himself at the front-line but is always overshadowed by Amuro. Sayla and Kai similarly surpass him and that contributes further to his inferiority complex.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: At the beginning he's suspicious that the reason construction on Side 7 is progressing so slowly is because the resources are being diverted to some kind of secret military project. Obviously, it turns out he's correct. He's very suspicious of the government in general and only goes along with being a mobile suit pilot because he knows that Zeon is even worse.
  • The Generic Guy: Starts to see himself as this when compared to Amuro.
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation - I Just Want to Be Special
  • Hidden Depths: The Origin places some emphasis on Hayato's heritage. Though he's a spacenoid he does have a strong desire to explore his Japanese roots back on Earth. After the war ends he visits a significant cultural sight with Frau and Amuro.
  • The Load: He isn't, but partway through the series he feels like it.
  • Love Triangle: Hayato —> Frau —> Amuro.
  • Pint Sized Power House: He can even throw Ryu.
  • The Resenter: Resents Amuro's importance to the crew, relationship with Frau, ace status, etc. His first appearance establishes that he has a distrust of Amuro and Tem because he believes that they're using up Side 7's resources and bringing danger on top of them.
  • Shoulder Cannon: His mechs.
    • The Guntank still has the large guns mounted over its shoulders.
    • He eventually goes to pilot the Guncannon using both the spray missile and standard cannon variant at different points.
    • While it doesn't exactly have shoulders, the Ball Hayato deploys in at Solomon is the twin cannon variant, keeping a similar gun placement to the Mobile Suits he piloted.
  • Tanks for Nothing: The Guntank looks formidable, but is darn near useless, and is usually the first machine to be disabled.
  • With Friends Like These...: He's Amuro's neighbor. Except for a stress-induced fistfight, they work together pleasantly enough and with no controversy despite Hayato being The Resenter, but...
    • Unknown Rival: He suddenly bursts out late in-series that he's been trying to "beat Amuro" the whole time.

    Mirai Yashima 

Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura (teenager, The Origin), Satomi Arai (Cucuruz Doan's Island) (JP), Fryda Wolff (EN)

"Maybe you should go a little easier on him, Bright."
Another civilian, 22-year-old Mirai is the daughter of a late powerful industrialist with strong Federation ties. Quiet and understanding, she mediates most of the crew's disputes and serves as the helm of the White Base' and as Bright Noa's unofficial second-in-command.
  • Action Survivor: Mirai is one of many civilians who enlist with the White Base crew. While not a formally trained soldier, she does well for herself when thrust into combat, even using a gun and defending the ship during Ramba Ral's final attack. Notably she shows some Newtype capabilities before most of the crew bar Amuro.
  • Age Lift: From 18 to 22. This was done so 15-year-old Mirai could appear in an Early-Bird Cameo from Sayla's past, although since she says and does very little and doesn't interact with Sayla or her brother, it seems to be mostly to keep her on par with an aged-up Bright.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: She appears in Spain with her father Shuu when he visits his injured friend Don Teabolo and suggests Mass take his two children to Texas Colony at Side 5, which Yashima owns.
  • Teen Genius: Her father says she's finishing high school and taking university courses at the age of 15 and that she wants to be an astronaut.

    Ryu Jose 

Voiced by: Miou Tanaka (JP), Bryce Papenbrook (EN)

Main mecha: RX-75 Guntank

"Die, you Zeon scum!"
Bright's best friend, 18-year-old Ryu is one of the few ranking soldiers to survive Char's attack on the White Base. He serves as the leader of the ship's pilots, mentoring Amuro, Hayato, Kai, and Sayla, while trying to keep the pressure on Bright to a minimum.
  • Ambiguously Brown: With Ryu's name it's hard to tell where he's supposed to be from or what ethnicity he might be. His looks though, would seem to mark him as black or Latino. All There in the Manual says he's ethnically descended from Black Argentinos.
  • Big Brother Mentor: Ryu often acted as mentor for the young crew members. It's especially emphasized with Hayato as both pilot the Guntank and spar together (Ryu jokingly referring to Hayato as his Judo teacher). Ryu's death hits Hayato hardest because of this relationship.
  • Big Fun: Cheerful, easy-going, and noticeably portly.
  • The Big Guy: The largest member of the crew.
  • Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: He's both the biggest member of the crew and the one keeping them emotionally stable. He had to go, sadly.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: He makes a brief appearance during the Battle of Loum as the pilot of a Recon Type Saberfish space fighter which is destroyed. Miraculously, he survives.
  • Expy: Of Getter Robo's Musashi Tomoe. The Guntank's design was even inspired by Getter-3.
  • The Heart: Very much so, since he's more mentally/emotionally grounded than the others (Bright included) and so he does his best to help them.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Rams a fighter that was attacking Amuro from behind, saving both Gundam and White Base in the process.
  • Ignore the Fanservice: Downplayed. While most of the male crew all have a crush on Matilda and comment on how beautiful she is; Ryu simply says that she's competent and nice before going back to work.
  • Killed Off for Real: Dies performing a Heroic Sacrifice to save the Gundam and White Base.
  • Number Two: While Mirai and Sayla often fulfill this role as Bright's direct inferiors; Ryu often acts as his right hand and the go between Bright and the Crew. It's clear that Bright respects Ryu's experience and reliability and often delegates orders directly to him.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Acts as one aboard the White Base, often helping to soothe relations between Bright and the pilots.
  • Sacrificial Lion: Ryu is built up as one of White Base's strongest emotional cores and teaches the civilians how to perform better in military positions. He's also the first major character to die, passing on in Volume 4.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Has shades of this, having been at Loum as a reconnaisance pilot-and seen his mothership shot down by Char, got his fighter shot down under him (with his second killed), and been the one who warned the Federation's main force that Zeon's fleet had bypassed Tianem only to be disbelieved due Tianem's last report before the Minovsky particles jammed his transmissions showing him winning against them.
  • Stout Strength: The largest member of the crew, and a very capable pilot.
  • Tanks for Nothing: Often pilots the Guntank in lieu of Hayato. He's about as successful with it too, though that's hardly his fault.

    Sleggar Law 

Voiced by: Tomofumi Ikezoe (JP)

Main mecha: GM, Guntank.

"Yeah, it's sad, but that's war."
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_18_at_105541_pm.png

A Federation ace who is assigned to the White Base crew following the Battle of Odessa. Cocky, brash, and none too keen on obeying every order, Sleggar's arrival causes a fair amount of upheaval amongst the cast, most notably Bright, who takes an instant dislike to him.


  • Ace Custom: He and the Sleggar Platoon all have custom GM's with their own insignia; Sleggar's GM in particular has an identical colorscheme to the Gundam. Though after Char destroys it, he switches to a standard GM (with an S spray painted on it) for his deployment to Odessa, noting that the performance is a bit lower than that of his custom.
  • Ace Pilot: Even more so than in the original series. Sleggar is a skilled pilot, operated his own GM, fighter jet, and the Guntank at different points in the series.
  • Adaptational Early Appearance: Twofold.
    • Since Jaburo is visited much earlier in The Origin, Sleggar appears sooner than in the original.
    • In the original, Sleggar debuted right as the White Base was leaving, while here he shows up during Zeon's attack.
  • Ascended Extra: Sleggar's role in the story is greatly expanded on account of the White Base docking at Jaburo much earlier in this adaptation. Here he's present for numerous events that he was absent for (the White Base's arrival in Ireland, the 2nd confrontation with the Black Tri-Stars, etc.) and has much more to do.
  • Big Brother Mentor: Tries to play this role to Amuro, Kai, Sayla, et al, though his late arrival means none of them are quite sure what to make of him.
  • Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: A rather amusing aversion. The story goes that Tomino was a fan of Rocky and wanted Sleggar to look "like that American movie star Sylvester Stallone". The problem was that character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko has no idea what Stallone looked like and because of the show's infamously tight production schedule he was unable to procure a decent reference photo before the deadline. Eventually he just threw up his hands and drew the most generic American movie star-type character he could think of and the rest is history.
  • Custom Uniform: His blue pilot suit, complete with a gold 'S' on the helmet.
  • Eagle Land: Mixed. He's brash, cocky, arrogant, and a shameless flirt, but an excellent pilot and a decent guy once you get past his unrefined exterior.
  • Foil: Serves as one to Bright.
  • Handsome Lech: Teases Sayla and Mirai once or twice, earning the former's ire.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: While the Big Zam ended up destroying Sleggar's vehicle in his and Amuro's joint attack on Dozle in both the Series and Movies; here he only restrains Sleggar's Core-Booster and Sleggar deliberately jettisons the booster to fly his fighter straight into the Big Zam's thrusters in a kamikaze. All to damage it and give Amuro an opening.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: For a guy as rough as he is, the scene where he deflects Mirai's confession and gives her a good bye kiss and a ring is surprisingly bittersweet. Even more so after he bites it in battle.
  • Lantern Jaw of Justice: Probably has something to do with being entirely based on the image that runs through a Japanese person's head when he hears the words "American movie star".
  • Missing Mom: We don't know if Mrs. Law is alive, but he carries around a ring that belongs to her. He gives it to Mirai before he dies.
  • Outranking Your Job: As a Lieutenant JG, he's serving under Mirai, who's an Ensign and the ship's first officer. The job he's actually performing (pilot) is perfectly suited to his rank, but he's technically the senior officer aboard White Base and ranks equally with The Captain. There is an apocalyptic war going on, though; these things happen.
  • Phenotype Stereotype: Yasuhiko wanted him to look American and he certainly succeeded.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives this during an argument between Mirai and Cameron, in which he slaps Mirai for her lack of concerns to the risks Cameron took in looking for her by himself and chew out Cameron for his meek personality as the reason for his apparent "cowardice".
  • Sixth Ranger: His arrival really screws with the White Base's dynamic, and particularly irritates Control Freak Bright.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Not a genius by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly more intelligent than he appears to be.
  • Tank Goodness: He has a very impressive showing in the Guntank, and on Texas Colony, he takes a squadron of Zaku's apart with only Job John in the Guncannon as backup. As unwieldily as the Guntank is, Sleggar uses its strengths; thick armor, long range heavy ordinance, and its treads providing much more balance than standard MS legs, to win the day.

    Sleggar Platoon 
Etur Borbache, Wong Chang, and Michael "Don Mitch" Rodrigo are a trio of soldiers under Sleggar Law. After training for the Federation's Mobile Suit program they deploy during the defense of Jaburo and clean house easily. When the White Base departs they join along with Sleggar.
  • Ace Pilot: They're experienced GM pilots and seasoned soldiers. During their first outing against the Zakus they consciously ignore many of the mistakes Amuro made. Wong Chang is also an experienced fighter pilot.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: After Sleggar and his soldiers are beaten offscreen by Char, Sleggar mentions that Don Mitch was amongst those killed.
  • Surprisingly Sudden Death: Wong is blasted by the Zock after a bombing run and Etur is killed during Odessa, blasted in the back mid-sentence.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: All to different extents, but Don Mitch had it the worst. He spoke only during the GM debut and his introduction; then his death happened offscreen.

    Katz Hawin, Letz Cofan, and Kikka Kitamoto 

Katz is Voiced by: Ayaka Asai (JP), Fryda Wolff (EN)

Letz is Voiced by: Megumi Han (JP)

Kikka is Voiced by: Satomi Arai (JP)

"3,2,1...!!!"
The youngest members of the White Base crew, 8-year-old Katz, 6-year-old Letz, and 4-year-old Kikka are three orphaned children from the attack on Side 7. Sometimes mischievous; sometimes very sweet and brave, they're essentially adopted by the rest of the crew and closely looked after by Frau Bow. They stay with the ship for the war's duration.

  • Bratty Half-Pint: Times three. Special mention goes to troubled, already-orphaned Letz who pre-war freely punches kids out, has a "bad kid" reputation, and calls Frau "Old Lady Bow", and who later claims to have stolen a car once back on Side 7.
  • Mukokuseki: As third- or even fourth-generation Spacenoids, the kids' ethnic and ancestral backgrounds are deliberately unclear – Katz may be partly Asian, but it's never specified; Letz has darker skin and curly reddish hair; and Kikka has a Japanese last name and the blondest hair and bluest eyes you'll ever see.
  • Sad Clown: Letz is the biggest prankster of the three, and also the one with an additionally Dark and Troubled Past, having been an orphan since before the attack on Side 7. His father was a Federation soldier who died in the Battle of Loum and his mother died of an illness not long after.

    Haro 

Voiced by: Satomi Arai (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)

"Haro, Amuro! Haro, Amuro! Thank you, Amuro!!"
Amuro customized Haro from a a stock robot into a friend, using his engineering talent. A green, basketball-sized ball, usually seen rolling or floating around White Base behind Frau or with the three kids, Haro offers words of advice and encouragement in-between keeping up the level of cute at all times.
  • Ascended Extra: He's now the mascot for all of Sunrise.
  • Crossdressing Voice: He's a robot, but Haro refers to himself as "boku" and it's hard not to get male vibes from him.
  • Cute Machines: Incredibly so. MOEagare, indeed.
  • Everything Sensor: Haro picks up Bright calling for Amuro from decks away at one point and scans Amuro's brain waves later.
  • Robot Buddy: For Amuro and Frau, mostly.
  • Team Pet: He's just as much a crew member as anyone else.
  • The '70s: Pretty much the only explanation for him being avocado green.

    Paolo Cassius 

Voiced by: Steve Kramer (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_10_21_at_114455_pm_9.png
"Just what kind of legacy have we left... to those young men and women? War and Death and self-righteousness and Arrogance... The devastation we've wrought upon nature which heaven granted us... Perhaps it is already time we made our exit."

The original captain of the White Base, Paolo is an aging Federation Officer brought on to captain the Federation's new ship and to shepherd the new Gundam project. Though determined to carry out his mission it's clear the war has taken its toll on him.


  • Adaptational Badass: In the original anime he was wounded manning a turret to fight Char's Musai. Here he commands a small armed gunboat with Ryu and another officer and they fly out to dogfight Dren and the Musai directly even managing to damage their ship.
  • Ascended Extra: Downplayed. Paolo is given a few extra scenes in The Origin where he is given a bit more to do. We learn that he was Watkein's instructor and on his death bed more insight is given into him as a character.
  • Old Soldier: Just an old officer summoned up from Reserves for one last key mission.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: Paolo was a major supporting character for Volume 1 and his death and funeral close out Section VII.

    Lance Corporal Masaki 
A quiet member of White Base's personnel. Masaki largely handles upkeep and helped to pacify the refugees taken on board. While present in the original MSG series, Masaki is given a bit more character moments here.
  • Hidden Depths: While a background character most of the time she's given a solo scene in volume 2 to flesh her out during a talk with Bright. While the crew is on R&R she's one of the few who chose to remain behind to clean up the former living spaces of the refugees which she admits to missing.
  • Nice Girl: Calm, patient, and demure. Masaki usually worked with the refugees because she was easy to be around.

    Job John 

Main mecha: Guncannon, Guntank, GM

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/job.PNG

A Corporal on board the White Base. Like Ryu and Bright he was already serving in the military before they had to enlist civilians to man the ship so Job does have some combat experience under his belt. When the White Base engages with Gadem, Job volunteers to pilot one of the Guncannons and continues to operate the suit during the conflict on Earth.


  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Inverted. In the original he and Hayato piloted the Guntank during Hamon's counterattack and Job was approached by Ryu who convinced him to eject the Guntank's top half so he could pilot the Core Fighter which he would use in a kamikaze run. After the battle, Job breaks down in guilt for having enabled that. Here, the Guntank doesn't operate with a Core Fighter and Job was piloting a Guncannon during the fight. The breakdown is experienced by Omur who okayed Ryu's use of the Fighter.
  • Adaptational Badass: While he was an MS pilot in the original series (Bright even offhandedly mentioned him as a potential replacement for Amuro), he rarely saw action in that capacity; usually as one of the Guntank's pilots. Since The Origin features more Guntanks and Guncannons on board, Job sees more sorties than he did in the original series as a Guncannon pilot. He even saves Amuro and Kai at different points.
  • Alliterative Name: Job John.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • During Ramba Ral's final fight where his foot soldiers invade the White Base, Job pulls Amuro from the brig and saves him from a grenade and Zeon soldier.
    • He also saves Kai from Lt. Tachi during Hamon's counterattack.
  • Full-Name Basis: As in the original if he's called upon it's usually by his full name.
  • Mauve Shirt: Especially prominent here than in the original series where he was for the most part a background character. Job joins the fight as a Guncannon pilot and is involved in a number of fights at the start of the series. He lasts the longest of all the supporting MS pilots and often accompanies the more central characters whenever they have something to do.
  • Mr. Exposition: When the crew first meet the Black Tri-Stars, Job fills them in on who they were and tells them about the Battle of Loum.

    Daniel "Danny" Schoenberg 

Main mecha: Guncannon, Guntank

Danny is a Lance Corporal aboard White Base and a Guncannon pilot.


  • Back for the Dead: After the team arrive in Jaburo, Danny fades into the background when he's given his promotion; he stayed out of the Flashback arc and Odessa. He finally returns in Volume 9 and dies in the battle of Texas Colony in order to give Challia Bull a named character to kill.
  • Big Damn Heroes: During Ramba Ral's first attack he out maneuvers and almost kills Amuro. Danny blasts him before he can land the final blow and while Ral took the brunt of the hit with his shield, it allowed Amuro to escape.
  • Canon Foreigner: Another newly created character unique to Origin. Danny even managed to outlive all of the other Canon Foreigner MS pilots in the White Base.

Earth Federation Forces leadership

    Admiral Johann Ibrahim Revil 

Voiced by: Hiroshi Naka (JP), Jason Simon (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_11_08_at_73743_pm.png
"There are no soldiers left in Zeon!"
Commander-in-Chief of the Earth Federation Space Force, Admiral Revil kept the Federation together when it looked like a Zeon victory was guaranteed, after having escaped Zeon captivity following the battle of Loum. He takes a personal interest in the progress of the White Base crew, and is the mastermind of the Federation victories at Odessa and Solomon.
  • Big Good: As CINC of the EFSF. He's in his 60's and knows all the tricks of Zeon and the Federation. If not for him...
  • The Brigadier: An unusually high-ranking example.
  • The Chains of Commanding: He's aware of the burdens and risks that come with his rank.
  • Commissar Cap: Wears one when in uniform.
  • Cool Old Guy: One of the few Federation higher-ups who isn't corrupted, cowardly, etc.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: It's implied that Revil is also a Newtype, making him the oldest known character to be one. Though he doesn't particularly make explicit use of his latent abilities.
  • A Father to His Men: Plays the grandfatherly commander whenever he can, though if he has to, he will sacrifice his men's lives for the greater good.
  • Foil: To Degwin Zabi. They're both older, experienced leaders who absolutely believe in their side, yet nevertheless care for their people and seek an end to the war. Where they differ is when it comes to backbone, which Degwin lacks and Revil has enough of to spare.
  • Four-Star Badass: Though more verbal than physical, Revil earns major badass points almost every time he opens his mouth. He also believes in leading from the front, and often puts himself at risk to observe battles.
  • Good Counterpart: A case could be made that he's this to Degwin Zabi. Indeed, had Degwin been more like Revil in both morality and spine, most of the series' tragedies could have been avoided.
  • Killed Off for Real: He and Degwin Zabi are killed together when Gihren fires the solar ray.
  • Last-Name Basis: As in the original he's mostly referred to by his surname.
  • Named by the Adaptation: He had Only One Name in the original anime, while The Origin finally gives him a full name.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The Federation and Zeon were about to have peace talks when Revil broadcasts his fiery speech exhorting the Federation to keep fighting. This is exactly what Gihren and Kycilia want him to do, and while it does eventually come back to bite both in the butt, hundreds of thousands of lives could have been spared if the Antarctic peace talks had been allowed to go Degwin's way.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: In the "Zeon is exhausted" speech, he not only acknowledges the Spacenoids' grievances but also admits that the Earth Federation authorities, his own leaders were very much at fault for helping make the One Year War nigh inevitable. Still, he refuses to buy Zeon's shtick and let the Federation or mankind in general get trampled what he sees as a deluded ideology.
  • Rousing Speech: "Zeon is exhausted!". Can be read here
  • The Strategist: CINC of the Earth's defense forces.
  • Unwitting Pawn: His famous speech is only made possible by Gihren and Kycilia, who secretly break him out of custody and arrange his return to the Federation just so he can upstage the Antarctic peace talks and keep the war going.

    Admiral Gopp 

Voiced by: Naomi Kusumi (JP), Jason Simon (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_18_at_103411_pm.png
The Chairman of the EFF Joint Chiefs of Staff, and commander-in-chief of the Earth Federation Forces. Gopp was friends with Mirai's father, Shuu Yashima, when he was alive. It was Gopp who brought Tem Ray into the Federation as the head of mobile suit development.
  • Ascended Extra: He was only in the original to give orders to the White Base crew at Jaburo and establish that Mirai had a fiance. Here he's given much more to do especially as the one who okay'd the Federation's MS program. This is par for the course as the Universal Century did end up using Gopp a lot more after the original show.
  • Big Good: As Chairman of the EFF Joint Chiefs of Staff, this makes him the biggest of them as de facto head of the military, over Revil who commands the Space Force..
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He kickstarts the funding of the mobile suit project even as other flag officers saw it as a waste of money. Beyond that, he's a kind old man who wants to see a victory in the war against the Zeon tyranny.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Played With. He, like the rest of the Federation didn't think much of the MS program. He saw the Waffs and Bugus as simply small arms and not as much of a threat as the Zeon Battleships. Unlike the other Federation Heads he did bring in experts like Tem Ray to look at the footage and he trusted Tem's opinion that they were in real danger from these new weapons.

    Lieutenant General Elran 

A Lieutenant General within the Federation. Elran was the one who organized the rescue mission of Admiral Revil when he was captured by Zeon. More than anything else, Elran is an opportunist and a man of war. Perhaps the Federation was wrong to trust him.


  • Adaptational Dye-Job: Grey hair in the series, black-brown hair in The Origin manga, and red hair in the OVA.
  • Armchair Military: To the point when Revil notes that its strange of him to want to move his fighting garrison to the front as he's known for leading from an office.
    Revil: "Whatever is the matter Elran? I've known you for a long time, but this is a first... I've never seen you so eager to go out to the front!"
  • Smug Snake: His default expression is a haughty self assured smirk and he's got the arrogance that comes naturally with that. Elran's a schemer above everything else but he's up against a half other more skilled manipulators and he just doesn't measure up.
  • Villainous Breakdown: As Odessa is reaching its climax, Elran panics because of a nuclear attack on their command post that he helped plan. Their base is to be destroyed and all of his attempts to leave have been met with a refusal by Revil which just serves to out him as a traitor.
    Revil: "Ever since the battle at Jaburo, I've had my doubts. The intel leaks have known no end. I did wonder if anyone in the upper echelons weren't in league with the enemy. But oh... that it was you, Elran?"
    Elran: "H-Have mercy on me, y-your excellency - and let me off this ship!"

    Rear Admiral Watkein 

Voiced by: Joe Ochman (EN)

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The commander in charge of Luna II, the Federations Asteroid Base and the only outpost they have in space. Watkein is a stickler for rules and regulations and clashes with Bright and the crew for their breach in protocol and for bringing a conflict right to his doorstep. He was trained by the White Base's original captain, Paolo.


  • Adaptational Nice Guy: Wakkein of the original Gundam was a Jerkass while the compilation movies made him a Nice Guy. The Origin blends the two characterizations together. Watkein from The Origin is still an Obstructive Bureaucrat who ends up giving Char a chance to escape when he arrests Bright and co. and he's still a standoffish prick. In spite of that, Watkein's arrogance is toned down quite a bit and his conflict with Bright has him making sensible points instead of shouting him down. His relationship with captain Paolo is also expanded a bit as we learn that he was Paolo's pupil and holds the man in high respect especially as it's ultimately Paolo who talks him into letting the crew go.
  • Ascended Extra: Watkein has an arc in Origin where he goes from an inexperienced Armchair Military commander to a full fledged Frontline General. Since he survives Solomon and the Sortie at Texas Colony, unlike the old series and movies, everything he does afterwards is wholly original to The Origin.
  • Big Good: In the end, Watkein steps into this role with Tianem lost at Solomon, Revil killed by the Solar Ray and Gopp handling things on Earth. Watkein is the highest ranked officer and he leads the Federation for their attack on A Baoa Qu.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Played With The White Base had Char's Musai dead to rights until Watkein showed up and placed them under arrest. However, Watkein is fully aware of what he'd done and it's clear that such a grand scale conflict at the Federations only space base of operations would only endanger them should the greater Zeon military turn their gaze upon them.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: He interferes in the White Base's conflict with Char and arrests them for a breach of protocol as well as an unauthorized fight. He continues to wrap them up in red tape until Zeon attacks.
  • Saved by Canon: Watkein's fatal encounter with Char at the Texas Colony is moved from near the end of the war back the start of the war. Watkein's ship is destroyed but he'd already appeared in the present so his survival wasn't in doubt.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: In the series he died when his ship fought Char's after the battle at Texas Colony and in the movies he might have died at Solomon. He makes it to the final battle here.
  • Spell My Name With An S: His name, pronounced like Joaquin, differs in spelling between Wakkein and Watkein both in this series and the original. The English manga goes with the latter spelling while the subtitles go with the former.

    Vice Admiral Tianem 

Voiced by: Toru Ohkawa (JP), Paul St. Peter (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_18_at_104605_pm.png
"We are not defeated... not yet."

An Admiral in the Federation. Tianem is one of the main Federation leaders fighting Zeon in space and was their main opponent during the One Week War and during the Battle of Loum. After the Federation lost Loum, he and the second fleet remain around the moon, clashing with Kycilia's forces at Granada. He joins with the main fleet when the fighting moves back into space.


  • Anti-Hero: While Revil extends an understanding to the Zeon people and their unfair treatment under the Earth Federation Government, Tianem's feelings boil down to "kill the bastards." Having been a first hand witness to Operation British, his sympathy wasn't exactly forthcoming.
  • The Cavalry Arrives Late: The Tianem fleet fails to aid in the defense of Side 2 and by the time they arrive Operation British is underway. The only thing they can do is shell the dropping Colony which may have lead to it breaking up in the atmosphere and killing half the population whilst sparing Jaburo.
  • Four-Star Badass: Tianem and the fleet behind him was one of the major obstacles to Zeon when they first began their conflict. They rushed through Operation British so as not to face him. During the battle of Loum he is the only one of the Federation Commanders to actually win; a combination of the advantage of the Federation ship's more advanced firepower and the Zeon command using his victory as a means to ambush Watkein's, Cunningham's, and Revil's sailors. Even though his victory was factored into Zeon plans, they still suffered many losses.

Other Earth Federation Forces personnel

    Tem Ray 

Voiced by: Kouichi Sakaguchi (JP), Joe Ochman (EN)

"Get the Gundam on the lift before the evacuees!"

Amuro's father, Tem Ray is the engineer who created the Gundam and a highly-placed Federation technical officer who places his work before all else.


  • Adaptational Jerkass: In the original series, Tem carries a picture of Amuro to imply that he does care and think about him even if he can't be with him; when Bright sees it, Tem asks if it's really true kids Amuro's age are fighting as guerrillas, says it's terrible when Bright confirms it, and that hopefully with their own mobile suits the Federation can now end the war quickly. In Origin he instead says that Amuro's just a kid and has nothing like Bright's war experience. The ONA also adds a scene where when he is home, he barks and snaps at Amuro, chiding him for his complete lack of proper clothing or awareness and telling him to make coffee.
  • Death by Falling Over: Made more explicit in The Origin where he falls from a staircase striking his neck and dying. Amuro learns of his death before he heads into Solomon.
  • Parents as People: The flashback chapters establish that Tem was obsessive and career oriented. In many ways he's an older Amuro: not very social and more at home in the company of machines.

    Wertz 

Main mecha: Prototype Gundam

"Zakus have infiltrated the colony! I'm about to eliminate them!"

A Mobile Suit Pilot for the Federation, he was one of the few selected and trained to pilot the new Gundam project. Wertz is the first Federation MS Pilot to appear onscreen in The Origin's canon. He was the pilot of the RX-78-01 Prototype Gundam. During Wertz's last training session he came across the Zaku team under Char when they infiltrate Side 7.


  • Canon Foreigner: Wertz is original to the Origin.
  • The Faceless: We never see Wertz, shots of his cockpit show his arms and torso with his head obscured.
  • Super Prototype: Downplayed. While the Prototype Gundam is easily stronger than a Zaku, the Gundam's overall performance is better than Wertz's prototype.
  • Uncertain Doom: Wertz blasts a Zaku at point blank range which detonates it, and tears a hole in Side 7. In spite of the Zaku blowing up in his face, his Gundam was intact as it was sucked out into space. We don't know what happened to him after that. Tem survived a similar fate, but Wertz may have just died in the vacuum.

    Kemp 

William "Willie" Kemp

Voiced by: Christopher Bevins (EN)

Main mecha: Gundam

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"You must be Amuro?"

The Gundam's original pilot. Kemp was unfortunately shot dead in Gene's assault on the Federation command post before he could reach the Gundam, leading Amuro to take the MS. During Amuro's initially outing he was confused for Kemp at first. The OVA added a scene with Kemp where he meets with Amuro to discuss how much he knows about the "Gundam", and why.


  • Canon Foreigner: Kemp is original to the series, but he answers the question of who was originally to be the Gundam's pilot.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: While Wertz goes down fighting the Ash Zaku team in his Gundam, Kemp is shot by Gene's Zaku before he could even reach his MS.
  • The Faceless: In The Origin he's only shown wearing a face-obscuring helmet. The OVA however shows his face.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: In the OVA, Kemp is brought in after Amuro namedrops the "Gundam" after trying to bullshit his way past security to meet his father. Kemp is polite and affable, and ultimately agrees not to tell Tem about the incident after letting Amuro go — with a warning not to discuss what he's learned.

    Lieutenant Matilda Ajan 
"I think perhaps you might be psychic..."

A supply officer with the Federation who frequently brings the White Base ammunition, food, and instructions from Admiral Revil. She is much loved by the crew, and is the object of crushes from Amuro, Kai, and several other young men. Not a Mobile Suit pilot, but she still joins the action whenever possible.


  • Fiery Redhead: Has bright red hair and SEES quite a lot of fire in combat, but she's a very cool and steely sort, appropriate for her job as a high-ranking military aide.
  • Dude Magnet: She is the object of crushes from Amuro and several other young men.
  • Head-Turning Beauty: She's extremely pretty and Kai complains when a mob of guys want their picture taken with her, because his camera only makes twelve copies.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In order to protect the White Base, Matilda rams her Medea into one of the Black Tri-Stars' Doms in an attempt to topple it. But Dom pilot Ortega hits back, smashing the Medea's cockpit so the transporter crashes into the ground, exploding and killing her instantly.
  • Retirony: She died right before she and Woody were about to get married. Lampshaded by Woody himself later.
  • Team Mom: As the one who provides White Base with supplies and emotional support. Matilda's extremely competent and the show emphasizes her sense of duty and professionalism.
  • Vasquez Always Dies: She seemed to be more gritty than even Sayla, but then she bit it.

    Lieutenant Woody Malden 

  • Big Damn Heroes: When Char outmaneuvers and prepares to kill Amuro, Woody shows up in his Fan-Fan to blast Char's Z'Gok in the back and engage him, saving Amuro.
  • Crusading Widower: He doesn't blame Amuro and White Base for Matilda's death, and in fact he tells Amuro not to apologize to him, but is logically VERY unhappy at Zeon...
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Orders repairs on the White Base to be accelerated, and gives his life protecting it from Char. After the battle, Bright remarks how little damage the ship took and credits the deceased Woody for it.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: He is introduced and killed off near the end of volume 4.

Principality of Zeon

Char's Forces

    Char Aznable 

Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda (JP), Mayumi Tanaka (JP, child), Keith Silverstein (EN), Karen Strassman (EN, child)

Main mecha: Zaku I (red), Zaku II Commander Type (red), Z'Gok (red), Gelgoog Commander Type (red), Zeong

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"I'll show you that mobile suit has its limits, my friend."

One of Zeon's most infamous aces (and the franchise's most iconic character), the enigmatic Char Aznable is responsible for the attempt at stealing the Gundam in the first place. Pursuing the White Base wherever they go, Char makes it clear that he has his own agenda, even as his rivalry with Amuro Ray develops from a professional one into something both deeply personal and ugly.


  • Ace Custom: Repeatedly slaps red paint jobs and larger engines onto grunt suits. The later Gelgoog was built precisely to his specifications.
  • Ace Pilot: Char hit the ground running as a pilot. In his first outing in his Zaku I he helped total a squadron of Guncannons, and his first outing in his Zaku II made him famous for destroying 5 battleships. In all likelihood he's one of Zeon's best pilots if not the best.
  • Adaptational Badass: Char sees a lot more combat in this series both armed and unarmed. Even when the other Federation soldiers get Mobile Suits it's clear nobody save Amuro can truly challenge him. One short arc has him taking down several squads of GMs in just his Zaku II including Sleggar Law until eventually Amuro manages to take him down. Notably he wins against the Gundam in his first fight in the Gelgoog beating Amuro down, slicing off an arm, and tossing him to a minefield.
  • Adaptational Villainy:
    • While he's almost always shown as a jerkass, Char is shown to be an even more heinous figure in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Not only is his smug condescension cranked up, but Char is even more sociopathic and manipulative as he persuades several impoverished Amazonians into helping Zeon while falsely promising not to infringe on their cultural ways. Even as a boy, he shows no empathy or horror over brutally killing his enemies, much to the horror of his sister.
    • The movies even do this to his manga appearance with his roommate. In the manga Char was grateful for the mask his roommate gave him and during the battle for the Federation garrison he's shot by a random soldier. In the movies, Char sets him up to die after he figures out Char's identity inspite of him wanting to help Char in his vengeance quest.
  • Age Lift: Minorly. He's 21—> 22 now, instead of 19—> 20. It's part mashup, part Shout-Out. Material from the original series had Char as 19, although posing as two years older under his fake identity as Char. Although that came with its own birthday in Septembernote , aged-up The Origin Char still keeps his long-held Casval birthday of November 17.
  • Bastard Bastard: Yas has both him and his sister as recognized but illegitimate. The Origin also makes him even more of a bastard in the personality sense.
  • Benevolent Boss: As in the original, his soldiers comment on the fact that Char is a fairly good person to serve under as he's patient, even tempered, and tries to stop people from taking unnecessary risks.
  • Breakout Villain: Ever since the original series, Char's popularity helped give him a major role in the franchise. The Origin has him in a much more prominent role and delves into his history.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: The real Char Aznable was a friend of his from Texas Colony whom he closely resembled. When they both tried to reach Zeon, Char to enter the military academy and Casval ostensibly to enter a school there and find a job, Kycilia ordered 'Édouard Mass' (Casval) assassinated, destroying the transport he was to take to Zeon. However, Casval had noticed Kycilia's men, planted a fake gun in Char's luggage, and convinced a delayed-Char to switch clothing and papers at the spaceport, so Char died under Casval's not-very secret identity while Casval enlisted in Zeon's military under Char's.
  • Doppelgänger: To the real Char Aznable, with one exception — Casval has blue eyes, as Title Dropped in the first ONA. True to the legend that meeting yours means you'll die soon, it happened for the real Char, courtesy of the doppelgänger, and for Casval, who then played dead under the above.
  • The Dragon: Following Kycilia's hiring him away from Dozle, and the death of her previous Dragon, M'Quve, Char assumes this role to Kycilia.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Char loved his mother quite a lot and her death ended up pushing him down his villainous path. When he confronts Amuro at the end of the series he even admits that her house arrest and Dying Alone was one of the major reasons he conspired to tear the Zabi family down as they had put her in that position.
  • Exact Words:
    • Claims he has to wear his Cool Shades, and later Cool Mask, almost constantly because of a pigmentation issue with his eyes. This is technically true - Char's eyes are blue, but the real Char's eyes were brown, and since this is documented, he has to keep people from seeing his eyes to realize that he's an imposter.
    • Tries to pull this with his sister by swearing that he didn't kill Char Aznable; it was Kycilia's people. While this is technically true, she knows him too well to buy it and still holds him responsible. Which he is, even if Sayla doesn't know quite how much.
  • False Friend: To the real Char Aznable, and to Lino Fernandez, who had even been a real friend of the real Char's. It's almost possible to argue that Casval's decision to steal Char's identity and infiltrate Zeon was a spur of the moment decision — except that Casval knew the Zabis would never let him into Side 3 alive, so his talk of "making his own way" and "being his own man" there instead of going to school in Side 5 was a lie, the entire plan hinged on Char never showing up in Side 3, and it's almost a certainty Casval planted the gun in Char's luggage. While it was a safe bet Kycilia would try to (and successfully did) assassinate "Edouard", Casval premeditated events (like he later would for Garma) and had Char somehow escaped, Casval would have certainly hunted him down and ensured he was finished off.
  • Faux Affably Evil: While Char is capable of compassion, overall he's a cold and calculating person that hides his ruthlessness under a polite veneer. Still there are a number of scenes where that coldness slips through and the hollowness to his pleasantries is laid bare.
  • Freudian Excuse: With the flashbacks we see many of the events that made Char into the man he was today. His father died when he was young, and much of his childhood was spent eluding his father's enemies, culminating in Char learning to kill at a very young age. Jimba Ral raised him as a Tyke-Bomb to grow and defeat the Zabi family and when his mother dies, Char leaves his sister and goes to make a name for himself in the Zeon military.
  • The Heavy: The Origin cranks this up by Char having a hand in the events leading to the One Year War.
  • He Knows Too Much: Sets Lino Fernandez up to die, even with Lino's assistance and pledged loyalty, because Lino figured out he was really Casval Rem Deikun.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: It's either worse or lampshaded when he pretty much offers to join Gihren at the manga's end. (Even given his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.)
  • Icy Blue Eyes: A very important part of his past: The real Char Aznable, whom Casval resembled and whose name he took after the former was killed, had brown eyes. Since they looked exactly alike in every way except for their eyes, Casval wears a mask to hide his eyes when he joins the Zeon military as "Char Aznable".
  • Identical Stranger: As Édouard Mass with his Texas colony neighbor Char Aznable. The only difference is eye color.
  • Jerkass: Even in his most sympathetic moments, Char still comes off as kind of an asshole. Hell, his The Origin background pretty much cranks up his callousness and depicts him being ruthless enough to send innocents to their deaths in order to sever any loose end that would jeopardize his path of vengeance.
  • Lightning Bruiser: The Gelgoog and especially the Zeong, which is faster, better armored, and better armed than anything the Federation has to offer.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Char utilizes shields a lot more this time around. His original Zaku I and Gelgoog both have hand shields while his Zaku II and modified Zaku I have shoulder shields. He even uses his Zaku II's shoulder shield to deflect a glancing blow from the Gundam's beam sabre.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Char constantly gets bigger and better suits to combat the Gundam.
    • Played Straight with the Gelgoog and Zeong. Each were massive upgrades to his arsenal, the former designed by him which lands a decisive victory against the Gundam and the latter a powerful prototype that ends up destroying the Gundam albeit at the cost of its own life.
    • Averted with the Z'Gok. Unlike the original show it's not treated as a straight upgrade so much as a specialized suit for water operations. Char switches back to his Zaku II when the mission is over.
  • Mr. Fanservice: The manga includes a multi-page full color sequence of him showering.
  • Pet the Dog: Downplayed with Lalah. He tells her her most treasured possession is easy to fix, instantly bringing her joy, then later rescues her from slavery. Those are good things to do, but it's fairly obvious that he's only interested in her due to his issues with abandoning his own younger sister. Not to mention that their association doesn't end well at all.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Of a sort. While he didn't know at the time, and may never have found out, among the casualties his unit inflicted in the opening, diversionary sortie of the Battle of Loum were the real Char Aznable's parents.
  • Serial Killer:
    • "The minimum death toll to be classified as a serial killer is 3-5 people, providing they were killed in separate incidents over a period of more than 30 days."note  The additions of the real Char and Lino to Garma and Kycilia now qualify him, with the first three even having a distinctive pattern.
    • Unlike other serial killers, however, Char doesn't give a damn about collateral and never bothers to make sure his victim is the only one who dies. Military and civilian plane loads of people are completely fair game, with Char never acknowledging he's also responsible for those deaths.
  • Smoking Is Cool: In line with his general 'gives no fucks' attitude, Origin Char also casually smokes, although never in the military. Even though it's anime, it's likely it's also to emphasize Good Smoking, Evil Smoking, especially since he's the only one we really see doing itnote .
  • The Sociopath: This version of him has reached (or sunk to) new and even more disturbing levels, given how the Dawn Uprising episode even gives him someone extra to dispose of in almost the same way as he already got rid of the real Char and would later dispatch Garma. Prior to that, he almost killed a man less on his paranoia he was a Zabi spy than because he could, and it was only his sister crying and screaming at him that dissuaded him.
    I hate it when you're like this!
    I'm sorry, Artesia. I won't do it anymore...
  • Teens Are Monsters: His school wants adolescent Édouard to leave, not because of anything he's done, but because the rest of the students and faculty are just frightened of him. He's completely and pathologically unable to cope with his mother's death, to the point where it sets him off on years full of killing and resentment. And the first thing he does is bump off the neighbor boy and steal his identity... He doesn't improve post-adolescence, either.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Even at the age of 11 with an previously-untraumatic life, he was unemotional to the point he never screamed or cried about his father's sudden death or having to abandon his mother. His sister is very upset at how easily he takes to killing his "enemies". See Teens Are Monsters.
  • The Unfavorite: Possibly this with regards to Deikun, who's cuddling Artesia and telling her she's "a good girl" the night before he dies. He doesn't even notice Casval, who lies in bed looking resentful. Not only another piece of his messy Freudian Excuse, it would also explain why his mother's death hit him so much harder, as well as make him a frustrated "Well Done, Son" Guy — and the rest of his life extraordinarily ironic.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: While he was prone to Troubling Unchildlike Behavior as a kid, young Casval was still more openly affectionate and did care about his family quite a bit.
  • We Can Rule Together: At one point offers Amuro the chance to join his cause since he is also a Newtype. Lalah even encourages him to join them. Amuro refuses, however.
  • Wolverine Claws: The Iron Nails on the Z'gok (four in this version in contrast to the original's three). Not a Hot Blade like his Zaku's weapon nor a Laser Blade like his Gelgoog's; the Iron Nails are just sharp dense steel which give him the ability to stab through Mobile Suit armor.
  • You Killed My Father:
    • He believes that his father was killed by the Zabis so Degwin could take power and even accuses them of it as a boy. Though whether or not they were behind his death is ambiguous, much less so is his mother's passing — with their ascension to power she died alone, under house arrest. The thought of her dying secluded and away from her family was the last straw for him, and he began his vengeance quest upon hearing the news.
    • However, his anger about his mother is again misdirected — the Zabis may have been overseeing Zeon, but it was Roselucia who confined his mother. None of the Zabis are ever heard mentioning Astraia's name after that. Of course Roselucia conveniently predeceases Astraia and eliminates herself as a target.

    Dren 

Voiced by: Hiroshi Shirokuma (JP), Kyle McCarley (EN)

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Char's right hand man for much of the series. Dren was selected by Char personally after his tactical advice during the battle of Loum. The series begins with he and Char pursuing the White Base to Side 7 and eventually to Earth.
  • Mauve Shirt: One of the most prominent of the background Zeon soldiers.
  • Number Two: Char took him as his second in command after he got promoted, and Dren is often at his side relaying orders. Notably he continues to serve as this when Char is employed by Kycilia whilst his original incarnation was sent back into space.
  • Safety Gear Is Cowardly: As in the compilation movies, Dren declines to wear a space-suit when engaging the White Base, saying that doing so would damage troop morale. It ultimately doesn't matter, again as in the compilation movies, because the bridge of his Musai is destroyed by the Gundam which would have killed him space suit or no.
  • Villains Out Shopping: When Char makes it to Earth and falls in with Garma's unit, Dren takes advantage of their new accommodations to go swimming in one of the luxury pools.

    Denim 

Main mecha: Zaku I, Zaku II

The leader of the Zaku team and 2nd in command to Char for fieldwork. Denim fought with Char during the battle of Loum and afterward was placed under his command. He directs his troops to the best of his ability but the hotheads give him a problem.


  • Advertised Extra: Though Denim is a fairly insignificant character killed early on, the gunpla line uses him in place of a generic soldier for some of the Zeon grunts. The standard Zaku I was explicitly released as his suit while before it was usually implied to be Gadem's and the Zaku II C-6 was also solicited with him as the pilot.
  • BFG: In the first movie, when he and Slender deploy as Char's Wingmen at Loum, Char tosses his massive anti-ship rifle to Denim to use in the fight. Though when the battle proper happens in the sixth movie, this was retconned away.
  • The Dragon: While Dren is appointed as second in command, Denim is the Zaku team commander and reports directly to Char. When Char went to investigate a suspicious Fed ship, he took Denim with him to tear the ship apart with his Zaku II should anything happen. Denim is the final enemy of Amuro's first deployment, as he was in charge of Side 7's invasion; and Char is fought immediately afterward.

    Gene 

Main mecha: Zaku II

A new recruit to Char's unit. Unlike Denim and Slender, Gene has never seen combat before and is eager to prove himself. He gets his chance during the team's arrival at Side 7 and he becomes Amuro's first opponent.


  • Adaptational Heroism: In the original Gene disobeyed orders and began attacking the Side 7 soldiers all to secure personal glory for himself. He breaks their cover and ultimately dooms their mission. In The Origin, their cover is already blown when Ash's squad is discovered and fired upon by Lieutenant Wertz. While Gene still wants to prove himself he also aims to avenge Ash's team after they're all killed and Gene only breaks rank after their cover was blown.
  • Arm Cannon: His Zaku II's left arm is equipped with a dual vulcan.
  • Defeat Equals Explosion: When Amuro defeats him, he accidentally detonates the Minovsky reactor in Gene's Zaku and it explodes with enough force to tear a hole in Side 7.
  • Hot-Blooded: Gene is wound up and eager for a fight. Before they launch into Side 7, Gene started a row with one of Ash's men after Gene bumped into him and even threatened to stab the guy.

    Sergeant Ash 

Main mecha: Zaku II

The leader of "Ash Squadron" a three Zaku team that was deployed with Denim's team during the assault on Side 7. Ash and his men investigate a testing ground and run afoul of Lieutenant Wertz and the Prototype Gundam, kicking off the first conflict between Zakus and Gundams.


  • Canon Foreigner: He and his squadron were created for this manga.
  • Oh, Crap!: The reaction to seeing a Gundam and that it's shield was enough to defend it from a three MS barrage.
  • Red Shirt: Ash's whole role is to give a name to a Zaku pilot in order to make the first Gundam victory all the more meaningful.

    Red Nose 

Main mecha: Acguy

An aquatic soldier who accompanies Char during the assault on Jaburo. "Red Nose" pilots an Acguy and unluckily ends up as the first Mobile Suit opponent of the Federations new GM's.


  • Adaptation Name Change: Played With. His name in the original series was Akahana which literally translates to "Red Nose". While here he's just called Red Nose.
  • Fashionable Asymmetry: Averted. The formerly asymmetrical Acguy (Torpedoes on one hand and a Cannon/Claw on the other) is symmetrical in this version (two claw cannon hands).
  • Oh, Crap!: His reaction to encountering one of the Federations newest Mobile Suits (and confusing it for The Dreaded Gundam).
  • Wolverine Claws: The Acguy's claw was a straight example in the original, being deployed blades for fighting or grappling. Here its claws function more like manipulators and are opposable but still used as its primary weapon. Notably it now has two instead of one, much like it's later depictions in the UC.

    Lalah Sune 

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (JP), Lipica Shah (EN)

Main mecha: Elmeth

A teenager from Mumbai sold by her family, Lalah uses her mysterious predictive abilities at the whim of a crook. She's eventually rescued by Char near Jaburo, ending up serving him in the Zeon military with total devotion and admiration.


  • The Dutiful Son: Lalah is apparently the oldest of several, which is part of why she's out on her own, taking care of them by having contributed to the family and leaving. Even when Char frees her and asks if she wants to go home, she declines, saying things will be easier for her family without her.
  • Fatal Family Photo: Downplayed. Despite leaving her family because they needed the money, Lalah treasures the only picture she has of them, and Char initially works his way into her good graces simply by telling her it's easy to restore it, at which point she's absolutely radiant. She still dies, but it's quite a long time after.
  • The Ingenue: As in the original series; here, as an Earthnoid, she tells Char she can see stars twinkling (when she's actually watching a battle). Char has to tell her they don't do that in Space.
  • I Owe You My Life: Lalah was being used as a means to cheat at gambling by a criminal and his associates. After they were threatening to sell her to the big time mafia, Char steps in to save her, killing people to do it.
  • Lighter and Softer: Lalah is neither an orphan nor a teenage hooker in this version. However, there is also Hotter and Sexier official art of Char in a Modesty Towel and her in just a slip, suggesting that their relationship in this telling is fully sexual, unlike the more ambiguous original series.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Lalah is (understandably) extremely wary of Char when he approaches her and flatly tells him people die around her, before turning sweet with gratitude. She shows more of the ice to Amuro later.

Zabi Family

    Sovereign Degwin Sodo Zabi 

Voiced by: Jin Urayama (JP), Marc Thompson (EN)

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"Have you [Gihren] ever heard of a man named Adolf Hitler?"

An associate of Zeon Zum Deikun, Degwin Zabi became Sovereign of Zeon after the latter's death and turned Side 3 into his family's personal dictatorship. Now old and tired, Degwin leaves the day to day running of the war effort to his oldest son, Gihren.


  • Adaptational Badass: The original series focused on his fall from power and how he was largely just a figurehead of the empire he forged. Since The Origin depicts his rise to power we get to see Degwin as a fairly competent and restrained schemer. He even tells Gihren off for potentially unnecessary risks.
  • Adaptational Heroism:
    • While far from the most malicious of the Zabis in the original, The Origin plays up Degwin's more humanizing traits and emphasizes his love for Garma and his family. In a less apparent vein, his bid for power comes across as slightly less self-serving and he looks more like a Well-Intentioned Extremist than a conventionally evil dictator.
    • His most suspect moment in the original series was seizing power in Side 3 by claiming a dying Deikun had asked him to take charge. Here he says Deikun's Last Words were... asking him to look after Astraia and the kids. It gets subverted because Degwin makes no effort to do that (if he'd only treated them with an equal regard to his own family and protected them, history might have looked quite different), but it also eliminates one of his worst points of characterization.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • When it looks like tensions between the Federation and Zeon are reaching a boiling point, Degwin makes it clear that he doesn't want a war and hates that Gihren has been stoking the hostilities. The idea of war and the bloodshed that will ensue is something he wants to avoid, and states that even if they had an advantage in the conflict he'd still want to find another way.
    • Operation British unsettled him greatly and upon hearing that after destroying Side 2 Gihren intended to further destroy Side 5, it's clear that whatever faith he had in his eldest son is gone.
      "You've killed billions, and you say that wasn't enough blood??!"
  • Four Eyes, Zero Soul: His sunglasses obscure his eyes far more here than the original series. It can make his expression hard to read and he does look more menacing.
  • Gonk: Degwin's more like this trope in Origin than in the original, with his face having more lines and a more realistic look to it.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: He places his faith in Kycilia as the one to stop Gihren from going too far. If this was original MSG he'd be right, but unfortunately for him ORIGIN flavor Kycilia is at least as evil as her brother if not more so.
  • New Era Speech: He gives a short one to Gihren and Dozle as he discusses the ins and outs of taking power from all the chaos that's unfolded with Zeon Deikun's death.
    "A long chapter of history has come to a close. Both Deikun and Jimba Ral have become men of the past. Only House Zabi will be responsible for the history that will unfold."
  • Offing the Offspring: Around the construction of the Solar Ray, Degwin confides in Kycilia that they need to get rid of Gihren. He believes that even if Zeon wins they'll have sunk to such despicable lows that any kind of peace they make will not last. With Gihren dead he plans to meet with Revil to end the war.
    "I'm to have my own flesh and blood brought down for the good of the nation!"
  • Pragmatic Villainy: During his rise to power, his political enemies, the Ral family, have public opinion turned against them. Degwin believes that Jimba Ral is done for, but he doesn't want Ramba Ral assassinated. He feels that Ramba Ral is far too important and so beloved by the Munzo military that if he were to be killed, then they could face civil war. Further, Degwin implies that Gihren was planning on such an assassination and advises against it.
  • Sinister Shades: Degwin's sunglasses are much more eye obscuring here than the original anime and they make him look more threatening.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin puts an additional emphasis on this aspect of him. Which may make his probable involvement in Deikun's death more sympathetic, given how Side 3 was at the time in no shape or form ready to take on the Earth Federation.

    Gihren Zabi 

Voiced by: Banjo Ginga (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN)

"I'll show you how a man who follows in Hitler's footsteps can fight!"

Degwin Zabi's eldest son, Gihren is a domineering, ambitious social climber, who runs Zeon's war effort from his position as Commander-in-Chief. Ruthless, controlling, and nearly-totally void of empathy, Gihren is nevertheless a skilled organiser and gifted public speaker, whose charismatic personality may be all that is keeping Zeon together. Having isolated his father from the public, he is the real ruler of Zeon in all but name.


  • Adaptational Nice Guy: The majority of characters in Yas's retelling either have Adaptational Jerkass or Adaptational Villainy, yet of all characters it's Gihren who ironically is less monstrous than the original version of himself, to the point where he seems like A Lighter Shade of Black to the increased villainy of his sister and Char. It all pales in comparison to his atrocities, but this version of Gihren actually cares about his family, believes in what he does and shows some subtle remorse over his more heinous actions.
  • Composite Character: This depiction of Gihren pre-rise to power ironically has more in common with the original show's Kycilia than The Origin Kycilia, being a ruthless schemer who's nonetheless very practical and refrains from committing atrocities if they're not necessary.
  • Consummate Professional: Particularly before his elevation to Supreme Commander, as he is shown indulging only in Pragmatic Villainy compared to his sister Kycilia and being exasperated by her passion for scheming and tormenting children. After his elevation this quality in him more or less vanishes.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he's willing to use and dispose of them, he actually likes his family. Notably, he's completely shocked and crushed when the car with Dozle and Sasro blows up (and more than a little happy when he sees Dozle survived) and decides to track down the actual culprit and make them pay at the same time he uses the situation to get rid of Jimba Ral's faction, he actually hesitates to fire the Solar Ray at Degwin's ship, and when Kycilia comes to call him out on killing their father he does not reveal she gave him the informations that led him to do it, even knowing she's about to kill him.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He's completely appalled by an assassination at a funeral (then again, the victim was his brother Sasro), and left Char alive (fully knowing who he really was) because he didn't want to kill Zeon Deikun's son unless necessary (and flat-out told him so when he thought Char was about to try and kill him).
  • Knight Templar: To a degree bordering on Adaptation Personality Change, as while original-flavor Gihren was also A Nazi by Any Other Name, his motives were less rooted in any ideology and more in his own greed and lust for domination (to the point of even inspiring a famous JRPG series titled Gihren's Greed). This Gihren, on the other hand, is explicitly driven by Zeon Zum Deikun's Super Supremacist teachings, making him less of an outright megalomaniac and more of an extreme version of this trope.
  • Lack of Empathy: Played with, as he's able to suppress his conscience better than Dozle and Garma, but ultimately even he's not totally devoid of one. This is revealed when Degwin calls on him to explain the failure of Operation British and berates him for his seeming bloodthirstiness even after causing the deaths of billions. He falters at first, starting to say, "The number that we've killed.." before stopping himself and rephrasing it to the more sanitized "how many have died". His subsequent reference to being prosecuted as a war criminal should they fail makes it clear that, like Dozle, Gihren knows deep down what he's done but suppresses it because there's no turning back (and because he believes that Utopia Justifies the Means).
  • A Lighter Shade of Black: Although this Gihren commits most of the same crimes as his completely heinous original self, he is given a few middling but legitimate redeeming qualities that keep him from being pure evil, contrasting the Adaptational Villainy his sister received. Ironically, Degwin has this mixed up and believes Kycilia to be the lighter shade when put against Gihren, unaware of her own power hungry ambitions.
  • Never My Fault:
    • Gihren blames the failure of Operation British on Dozle, arguing that the mission's execution was where it was botched rather than its planning; Degwin's issue was with the fact that the atrocity was committed at all and still holds Gihren responsible.
    • Gihren also blames Dozle for dying at Solomon. He felt that Dozle's sacrifice was unnecessary and that he should have escaped while Degwin counters that fleeing wasn't in Dozle's nature and Gihren with-held reinforcements (supplying only the Big Zam) fully cognizant of that fact.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin reveals that in addition to being a ruthless, sociopathic if competent dictator, he's also an avid gardener. Of course, a good Social Darwinist needs a test sample to test his ideas on...
  • Sanity Slippage: When first introduced Gihren actually seems much less malevolent than his little sister Kycilia, but as the war goes on and he embraces the trappings of absolute power, he falls into this, becoming the genocidal villain fans know and hate.
  • Sore Loser: In the event that Zeon would lose Odessa (and thus have to depart Earth), he gave M'Quve an order to launch any and all remaining armament at populated Federation cities. While Operation British was at least done with a goal in mind, this was clearly just trying to turn the Federation's potential victory into a pyrrhic one.
  • Super Supremacist: He's a true believer in Zeon Deikun's teachings that proclaim space-dwelling humans to be above "Earthnoids" and the next step in human evolution.
  • The Un-Favourite: Played with, as his father prefers Garma and later even Kycilia to him but still named him Supreme Commander (and notably does not strip him of this title even after realizing how monstrous his ambitions have become.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Unlike his more cynical sister, Gihren truly believes that his monstrous actions will bring about a better world, specifically the world Zeon Deikun was trying to bring about before his death. Since so little of Deikun's philosophy is known, it's not entirely clear what that world would entail, beyond Spacenoids being on top and Earthnoids being an underclass.
  • Villains Out Shopping: Origin gives a short glipse as to what Gihren gets up to on his spare time. In the manga he's seen gardening while in the movies he's playing an online game of Go.
  • Villainous Virtues: For all of Gihren's faults, this version of him at least buys his own sell and isn't just cynically using Zeon Deikun's ideology as a political tool. For better or worse, he's a true Contolist.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: He's a lot more calculating and capable in the flashbacks shown of his life before rising to power. After rising to power he more or less becomes drunk on it.

    Sasro Zabi 

Voiced by: Shinshū Fuji (JP), Braeden Fox (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_11_08_at_72427_pm_7.png
Degwin Zabi's second eldest son, Sasro was in charge of the media in the Autonomous Republic of Munzo. A chief propagandist, he helped manipulate public opinion behind House Zabi in the wake of Zeon Deikun's death. After Zeon Deikun's funeral he was killed in a car bomb, an event which scarred his younger brother Dozle's face.
  • Bullying a Dragon: He really shouldn't have slapped Kycilia.
  • Hate Sink: We don't see him much, but from what we do see of him there's not a single positive quality in him to be found. He's loud, mean, willing to hurt children and hit women, explicitly in charge of the dirty deeds the Zabis get up to, and in his last moments he tells Dozle off for the crime of trying to be a good person.
  • Non-Action Guy: He's the only Zabi shown who never has any active military role at all. Of course the Zabis didn't rise to military leaders until after his death, but even if he'd lived it's hard to imagine this portly man squeezing himself into a uniform and joining Dozle and Garma on the front lines.
  • Posthumous Character: As with the original MSG canon, Sasro was dead before the main series. Here we get to see his life pre-war during the flashback chapters (and thus the movies that adapt them).
  • Propaganda Machine: As the one in charge of the media, Sasro was the Zabi family's chief propagandist.
  • Smug Snake: He hits Kycilia as punishment for "getting too full of herself" and has no idea exactly how far her thirst for Disproportionate Retribution will drive her to repay the debt.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Sasro or Saslo.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Of all his children, Sasro resembles Degwin the most.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: He's dead before the series begins and only features in the flashbacks of Volume 5 and in the Casval epilogue.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Slaps his younger sister hard enough to draw blood when he discovers that she let Ramba Ral escort the Deikun family to a safe-house.
  • Would Hurt a Child: It's not clear if he intended to actually kill them or "just" imprison them somewhere, but either way Sasro did not have good intentions for the Deikun children and was furious when the Rals snatched them out from under him.

    Kycilia Zabi 

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)

"We will lead the Principality of Zeon to a decisive victory and guarantee ourselves complete control of the masses after the war is over."

Degwin Zabi's only daughter, Kycilia is a bright but cold young woman who serves as one of Zeon's best admirals. Capable of inspiring great loyalty in her subordinates, Kycilia is nevertheless without scruples when it comes to the conduct of the war. She is in charge of Newtype research, and has an intense rivalry with her eldest brother, Gihren.


  • Adaptational Dumbass: While still calculating, this Kycilia lacks much of her original counterpart's pragmatism and willingness to bide her time, instead being prone to making rash decisions such as assassinating Sasro out of impulse at a particularly shaky time and worsening the already unstable political climate within Side 3.
  • Adaptational Villainy: You sometimes get the feeling that she and Gihren flipped scripts. Easily the most notable change in The Origin is that all of Kycilia's good traits have been subverted. Her loyalty to her family is gone as it was she who killed Sasro in the car bomb and, in stark contrast to the original, had a hand in their father's death. Kycilia is much more vicious and sadistic in The Origin and no longer A Lighter Shade of Black to Gihren.
  • Age Lift: Younger than Dozle in the original show. Older than him in this continuity. This is incongruent with the later-published Casval 0057 prequel story however, which depicts Dozle as a teenager while Kycilia is still a child.
  • Cain and Abel: With her older brother, Gihren. Even though they're both evil, The Origin makes her the more clear cut Cain in the relationship with her sympathetic qualities gone and her killing Gihren.
  • Cultured Warrior: After M'Quve shows up, she shows herself to have this quality to a degree, naming the operation to break Revil out of Zeonic custody after the 1976 USA/USSR collaborative film The Blue Bird.
  • Dark Action Girl: Kycilia isn't afraid to take the field when she has to.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Averted. Her biggest redeeming quality in the original was her love of her father. Here she's just as willing as Gihren to dethrone him.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Subverted. Unlike the original she's as kill happy with her family as Gihren.
  • The Evil Princess: Kycilia's the daughter of a monarch with a lot of power over others and no compunction over abusing that power. In some ways she's worse than Gihren.
  • Evil Redhead: Her hair is bright orange instead of a brownish red like in the original series, and she's significantly more evil as well.
  • Four-Star Badass: Has the rank of Rear-Admiral.
  • The Heavy: Of all the Zabis, she's the most actively involved in making Casval's life miserable, and excluding Operation British, most of the suffering that others endure (Sayla, Jimba, Teabolo, the real Char Aznable, etc) are also either directly her doings or things she has a hand in.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: Her first two scenes make it clear that she suffers from this: in the first she makes a dramatic entrance to help Ramba Ral extract the Deikuns from a rubbernecking crowd, preening to Astraia and boasting of her family's proud pedigree. In the next, she is unceremoniously dressed down and given a bloody lip by her brother Saslo. Her reaction to the attack and to her brothers dismissing her makes it clear that proving herself to them is one of her core motivations. This quality in her fades as she acquires more experience and eventually even the favor of their father.
  • Lack of Empathy: Out of all the Zabis Kycilia qualifies for this trope most, even surpassing Gihren in this regard. She orders multiple assassinations without batting an eye, hounds and torments a boy of just 11 years old without remorse, and her only issue with the infamous Operation British was in its failure — if she could have ensured the destruction of Jaburo via Colony Drop, she'd do it in a heartbeat.
  • Parental Favoritism: Degwin may love Garma most of all, but as Gihren succumbs to "Deikun's ghost" and becomes a threat to the family it is Kycilia that he turns to for support, making it clear that he trusts in her and her capabilities to a degree none of her brothers enjoy. She does not repay this trust, but instead leaks information to Gihren to faciliate his demise.
  • Pet the Dog: For all of her manipulations and backstabbing, when she sees that the Zeong has destroyed the Gundam seemingly at the cost of Char's life, she admits that she was grateful for Char's service and promises to bury him with the Zeon Cross.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: She implies that she didn't have any faith in Operation British. The wide scaled murder wasn't an issue so much as she believed a Colony Drop wouldn't destroy Jaburo.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: She cuts a dashing figure as she is first introduced, but the bloodred eyes of her horse foreshadow how evil she truly is.
  • Sadist: The glee in her face as she torments the young Casval and in her eyes as she watches her brother Sasro die make it clear that she gets a pleasure out of her bloody work that neither Dozle nor even Gihren indulge.
  • Secret-Keeper: For Char. She regrets that.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: She and Gihren may hate each other, but they've got a lot in common personality wise. The family basically splits in two, with Kycilia and Gihren being icy and calculating, and Garma and Dozle being hot blooded and passionate.
  • Sleeps in the Nude: Yas gives us a good long look at her in the manga.
  • Smug Snake: She's smart and devious to be sure, and not blinded by ideology like her older brother, but this Kycilia is also a lot more prone to letting her ego get in the way of her effectiveness than the original MSG Kycilia. Her dealings with the young Casval neatly highlight this: she correctly pegs the young boy as a threat to her family's domination, but when given a chance to prevent Casval and Artesia's escape, she allows it to happen instead just because Ramba Ral flatters her with praise.
  • The Sociopath: Kycilia is charismatic and puts on a good image of someone who's in charge and wants to do what's best. Underneath that she's cruel, violent, and happy to throw away members of her family, even the father she pretended to be so loyal to.
  • Villainous Cheekbones: Still present, but not as prominent as in the original.
  • Younger Than They Look: Not as severely as her original MSG incarnation, but you'd be forgiven for assuming the OYW era Kycilia to be in her forties rather than more than a decade younger.

    Dozle Zabi 

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (JP), Neil Kaplan (EN)

Main mecha: Big Zam

"Once we mass-produce the Big Zam, the Feddies will be dead before they know what hit them!"

Degwin's third son (the second, Saslo, was killed before the series starts in a car bombing, which is also where Dozle got those scars), Dozle Zabi is everything his older brother Gihren is not. An aggressive fleet admiral, Dozle commands Solomon Base and leads his troops from the front. A dedicated family man, he cares a great deal for his father, his brother Garma, and his wife and daughter.


  • Adaptational Villainy: While he's one of the most sympathetic of the Zabis and regrets the action, The Origin establishes that he helped organize Operation British knowing full well that they'd be ending thousands of innocent lives.
  • Amazon Chaser: Downplayed, but when Dozle took note of Zenna it was because she pointed a gun at him and managed to force him to hold his position while Char and Garma led a military officer uprising against the Federation. Zenna and even his own men thought he was going to ravish her, only for Dozle to propose to her like a massive dork because she was badass enough to stand up to him.
  • Big Little Brother: As in the original, Dozle towers over all members of his family including his father. He was always taller than his oldest brother Gihren and we get to see here that he was even taller than his other older brother Saslo.
  • Book Dumb: Questionably. The Origin version of Dozle is openly more simple-minded than his original incarnation, and by his own admission is not very intellegent. While still able to conduct military strategy, he's openly less confident and more prone to brute force.
  • Evil-Detecting Baby: Thinks of his own daughter as if she could somehow sense the oceans of blood spilled by him (she sometimes cries, when he looks at her, which is probably caused by penchant for talking very loudly).
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • When Sasro strikes Kycilia, he's the only one present who objects, viewing it as an unnecessary act.
    • Dozle believes in his men and doesn't seek to sacrifice them, even for pragmatic reasons.
  • Former Teen Rebel: As seen in the Casval 0057 prequel, he was a banchou with a penchant for fighting Federation peacekeepers. Even as a teen, Dozle was massive.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has very pronounced facial scars. The Origin depicts the event that gave those to him: the car bomb that killed his older brother. Early in the story, his scars had not yet finished healing, and would bleed profusely whenever he got too excited.
  • Heel Realization: In Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, it's shown that for all his bravado and gusto, he's perfectly (and bitterly) aware that he has the blood of multitudes on his hands and would be tried and hung as a war criminal should Zeon lose. But he still commands Zeon's forces regardless out of protecting his family and homeland as well as in the hopes of redeeming the Zabi name though his wife and Mineva.
  • Manly Tears: Dozle wears his heart on his sleeve and is easily the most emotional of the Zabi family. He weeps openly at the loss of his comrades including his younger brother Garma.
  • The Mentally Disturbed: His behaviour in episode 5 can definitely be considered this. He justifies killing countless people as it being the Federation's fault for being weak and seems completely unaware of how his deranged behaviour comes across to his wife and daughter.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: His realization that Operation British didn't just kill countless people that wouldn't even be overall summed up until after the One Year War, but that he'd headed the operation that obliterated, poisoned and ultimately wiped out countless innocent children like his own daughter. He starts bawling at the mere idea of it, and it's only by a dose of nationalism, deluding himself that his patriotism is the right method, and his urge to defend his family that he barely manages to overcome such a trauma to continue his work.
  • No Indoor Voice: Played for laughs as it wakes up his baby daughter.
  • Obliviously Evil: Played with when he requests that Ramba Ral lead the gassing of Island Iffish and subsequent Colony Drop operation. He at first acts bewildered by Ral's violent rejection, making it look as if he truly believes the operation is just, but when pressed he dismisses his subordinates and tries first justifying the operation, then just outright attacking Ral for being just as complicit as he is. Subsequent scenes make it clear he's not oblivious and knows just how badly his family's crossed the line, but he supports them anyway because he believes in My Country, Right or Wrong.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Dozle acts as this for Zeon. Unlike many other central commanders he doesn't play into the petty squabbles and the men under him have a lot of loyalty and admiration for him. He puts his faith in his men and has a more direct and practical approach to combat rather than flashy show-boating. He pushes Ramba Ral and his squadron as ideal soldiers whilst most of the Zabi family dismissed him because of the Ral family's loyalty to the Deikuns.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: While Gihren and the rest have a massive Cult of Personality around them, Dozle gained this reputation for his work in the field and willingness to lead from the front. At Solomon it's clear he's a very popular commander.
  • Would Not Hurt A Child: In Origin he tells soldiers to hold fire on Deikun's children. When Gihren overrules him and gives the order to let the soldiers do what they want, he is shocked. He is even less pleased when the soldiers actually open fire. This gets subverted in episode 5, where he wipes out an entire colony by gassing it.
  • Younger Than They Look: In his twenties.

    Garma Zabi 

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (JP), Chris Niosi (EN)

Main mecha: Dopp

"Don't laugh, the men are watching."

Degwin's youngest son, Garma serves as leader of the Earth Invasion Force under his sister Kycilia. Desperate to win his family's respect, he is perhaps the most human member of the family, and is in love with his Earthnoid girlfriend, Icelina. He and Char Aznable go way back, having been friends since their days at the military academy.


  • Adaptational Jerkass: Due to his Spoiled Brat status being explicitly shown here along with his seething insecurity over being constantly upstaged by Char, this version of Garma is rather less sympathetic. He's still less evil than his siblings sans Dozle, but he's not really the charmer he was in the original MSG.
  • Adaptational Villainy:
    • Garma's given a few Kick the Dog moments in The Origin, showing the darker side of his desire to be a proper Zabi. His ambitions to get himself recognized leads to him commanding the mop up operations at Loum and blowing through their small resistance, leaving hundreds of civilian casualties.
    • Even demonstrated in his relationship with Icelina Eschonbach. Whereas in the original series they were having a noble, purely storybook Star-Crossed Lovers kind of romance, here he coolly notes that she also gives him information on her father's resistance activities.
  • Arc Villain: Of the White Base's adventures when they first touch down on earth; spanning Volume 2 (appropriately titled "Garma").
  • Big Brother Worship: Char notes that he's trying to win the approval and the attention of not just Kycilia but Gihren as well.
  • Nervous Wreck: Garma is highly-strung, and the much more coolheaded and toxic Char takes full advantage of every single one of his anxieties.
  • Parental Favoritism: Degwin dotes on him far more than any of his other children and refuses Garma nothing. For his part, Garma tries to prove himself to his father, but it's always in a half-hearted way, as he can never truly bring himself to refuse the privileges of his family name. This makes Char's contempt for him a little more understandable in this version, since he truly is a Spoiled Brat.
  • Unwitting Pawn: From the moment they work together in training onward Char knows how to work Garma and plays him like a fiddle in every encounter after, playing to his ego to get him to incite the other cadets to rise up in the Dawn Rebellion and later using his insecurities to provoke him into taking dangerous frontline positions.

The Deikuns

    Zeon Zum Deikun 

Voiced by: Eizou Tsuda (JP), Marc Diraison (EN)

The original leader and founder of the Autonomous Republic of Munzo at Side 3, Deikun promoted his philosophy of Contolism to encompass the ideas that Earth is sacred and humanity ought to migrate to Space, and that the colonies at the Sides ought to be self-governing. He also spoke of his belief in a "new type of humanity" that would emerge in Space. A former associate of both the Zabis and Jinba Ral, he died in 0068 under very suspicious circumstances.


  • Adaptational Dye-Job: Blond in the original show, brown-haired here.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: The brief portrayal of Deikun in the original series was of a heroic (possibly) martyred Messianic Figure. The Origin makes him erratic, temperamental, and potentially dangerous, as well as opening the possibility of his death being a good thing for Zeon. (Then there's the whole 'wife, mistress, and illegitimate kids' issue.) This was deliberately done by Yas, as he feared discussion about Newtypes in the original series had manifested in Real Life Japan as new religious movements including the deadly Aum Shinrikyo.
  • Ambiguously Evil:
    • Very little is clear about Deikun's morality. He opposes the Federation, but it's clear that the Federation is corrupt. He rants about the future and superiority of Newtypes but that might have been a stress-related outburst, a result of possible poisoning, or perhaps his fascist leanings becoming more apparent.
    • There's also the question of whether Contolism makes him the leader of a widely-supported Cult, given how he specifically mentions his "teachings" and "disciples" as well as the slightly-creepy "reformation of humanity".
  • Drama Queen: It's not quite a Blasphemous Boast, but he explicitly compares himself and his troubles to Jesus and the Crucifixion.
  • Marriage of Convenience: His marriage to Roselucia may have been out of convenience, given how she supported him both financially and politically, however she seems to have been in love with him. It would also make him a Gold Digger. Ironically, Astraia herself has no interest in Deikun's teachings... and he decides not to marry her.
  • Metaphorical Marriage: Exaggerated. Not only do he and Astraia conduct themselves as married, everyone in society around them treats them this way. However, the reason they can't marry is because he's already married.
  • Posthumous Character: He died long before the start of the One Year War but his influence is felt from the Principality to his own children. Subverted with the flashback arc, since it's basically the first time we've seen and heard him alive.
  • Secret Other Family: Inverted. Everyone knows Deikun has a pretty blonde wife (and then a widow) as well as two children. Very few people know about his legal wife. While the women themselves certainly know, given it's the sort of thing that might kill a politician's career even hundreds of years from now in the UC — with her mix of love/obsession/devotion to Deikun's political fortunes, Roselucia probably agreed to keep her mouth shut and stay secret, wanting him to succeed. There's nothing protecting Astraia from her leverage once Deikun dies himself, though.
  • Shared Family Quirks: He wears sunglasses in a flashback to when he met Astraia, the way both his children would later do.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Six minutes into the first episode of the animated adaption, and he's already dead. His demise is what paves the way to power for the Zabis, who start a war that ultimately kills more than half of humanity. While he is shown to be just as radical as the rest of Munzo/Zeon when it comes to Spacenoid independence (and implied superiority), multiple characters on the Zeon side, even among the Zabis, are convinced he would have never started such an apocalyptic war. Meaning that had he not died, there was a chance things would have not turned so horrific (and kicked off the series' plot).

    Astraia Tor Deikun 

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu (JP), Veronica Taylor (EN)

Deikun's mistress and the mother of his children Casval and Artesia, Astraia is a former nightclub singer with a gentle, patient, and quiet personality. After his death and for their safety, she is unable to remain with her children and spends several years under house arrest in Zum City, undergoing a protracted illness and finally dying before they can reunite.


  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Astraia states her original motive for becoming involved with the tortured Deikun was to give him comfort, and she remains gentle, patient, and accepting with him. However, given how highly-strung he is more than a decade later, she may only have been successful to an extent.
  • Canon Foreigner: The Origin is the first time we get any insight into the mother of Deikun's children. Let alone her name.
  • Cynicism Catalyst: Not that he wasn't having issues before, but Astraia's death was a key factor in sending Char over the edge into the cold person he is today.
  • Death by Despair: It's strongly implied that separation from her children hastened her death. After visiting her in the tower, Crowley bursts into tears knowing she's going to die soon.
  • Girl in the Tower: Quite literally. Roselucia puts her effectively under house arrest in a tower on a small island where Zeon would retreat to write.
  • Love Martyr: She loses her freedom and her children simply for having loved Deikun and having had his children, and it's implied her death is greatly hastened for the same reasons. It's almost inevitable that Astraia would have had a happier fate had she never met or become involved with him.
  • Men Act, Women Are: Passivity is one of Astraia's strongest traits. Probably the most passive character in the series, she quietly accepts every harsh thing that comes her way, a Foil to her energetic Action Girl younger friend Crowley Hamon. While she unquestionably loves Deikun, she shows no genuine interest or awareness in his fervent ideologies, only being truly devoted to the man himself, and by extent their children.
  • The Mistress: Deikun left his wife Roselucia for her (more accurately, it seems Roselucia left their house), but remained married to Roselucia. Although Astraia is treated like his wife and both she and the children have Deikun's name, the true legal state of affairs rapidly becomes apparent upon his death and with Roselucia's return. Astraia even manages to take being called a whore by Roselucia without resorting to the same degree of anger.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: The anime had his children inheriting the blond hair from Deikun, but Yas makes both Casval and Artesia into miniature Astraias.
  • Sympathetic Adulterer: She says when she met Deikun he was exhausted and hurting very badly and she just wanted to comfort someone who had "suffered so much" (although the anime doesn't go into specifics).

    Roselucia Deikun 

Voiced by: Miyuki Ichijou (JP), Melodee M. Spevack (EN)

Deikun's wife, who supported him emotionally and financially since his days as a street activist. He left her because he wanted children, something for which her health had never allowed, but they never divorced. After his death, she reappears to cause trouble for the vulnerable Astraia.
  • Blame the Paramour: She directs all her anger at Astraia and her children rather than Deikun. The kids don't seem to have even known she existed prior to meeting her.
  • Canon Foreigner: A new character for The Origin. If the mother of Deikun's children was never discussed before, the idea of Deikun being married to someone else certainly wasn't.
  • Evil Makes You Ugly: She's a very bitter, very unpleasant woman... and quite frankly, she looks it.
  • The Fundamentalist: With the exception of Gihren post-Supreme Commander promotion, no one is more fanatical about Contolism than Roselucia. She's memorized Deikun's teachings the way a Christian would memorize the Gospel, and uses it to justify her contempt for Astraia, who has no investment in Contolism whatsoever despite her adoration for Deikun.
  • Hate Sink: Like Sasro, Roselucia is a character completely devoid of any pleasant or redeeming characteristics. She's fanatically obsessed with a dubious ideology, has nothing but hate in her heart for Astraia, and doesn't give two hoots about Casval or Artesia even though they're the innocent children of the man she's devoted to. Even her love for Deikun is poisoned — it's more of a toxic obsession than anything healthy.
  • Incurable Cough of Death: Roselucia is ill with... well, something, and gets into a terrible coughing fit if she gets too riled up. This eventually leads to her death offscreen, but Astraia only finds that out from Hamon when she visits.
  • Love Martyr: She's the wife who supported his career, then he left her for a younger woman and the opportunity of children, but Roselucia still appears to love Deikun years later. It makes her truly unpleasant, especially if you're Astraia.
  • Mad Love: Roselucia is completely obsessed with her late husband and believes herself to have been the perfect wife to Deikun in every way except her inability to give him children.
  • Marry for Love: There's a strong implication that Roselucia's wealth and political backing made for a Marriage of Convenience for Deikun's ambitious Gold Digger, but Roselucia seems to have loved him even when he had nothing.
  • Misplaced Retribution: The only reason she takes in Astraia is to punish her with what is effectively a prison sentence. The idea that Deikun himself might bear any responsibility for her abandonment never once occurs to her.
  • The Missus and the Ex: Except Roselucia is both, herself! She still makes nothing pleasant or easy for her successor.
  • The Resenter: She's very resentful of Astraia for giving Deikun the one thing she couldn't, and flat-out calls her a whore to her face.
  • Witch with a Capital "B": Little Artesia refers to her a "witch" in Japanese. Given her scary looks and personality, it works out nicely in translation.

Ramba Ral's Forces

    Ramba Ral 

Voiced by: Shigeo Kiyama (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN)

Main mecha: MS-04 Bugu, MS-07B Gouf

"I get it now. Lord Gihren would plan something like this. However, a military man should never even suggest this... because it's the work of the devil! It's evil!"
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_18_at_111942_pm.png

An affable Zeon ace, Ramba Ral came to Earth following Garma Zabi's defeat at the hands of the White Base crew. Meeting Amuro Ray while both were off-duty, Ramba Ral struck up a friendship with the boy. He would later lead a number of attacks on the White Base crew.


  • Ace Pilot: Comes pretty damn close to defeating Amuro more than once during their duels. Note that while his Gouf is an improvement over the Zaku II, it still isn’t on the same level as the Gundam. Ral is just that good. Part of this is due to the fact that he was one of the lead test pilots in the development program of the Zaku I, meaning that he literally has more experience in piloting mobile suits than anyone else.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness: He wasn't ugly per se in the original series being a rather plain looking man who greyed prematurely, but the Origin has him a lot more ruggedly handsome and physically fit.
  • Adaptational Badass: Already an Ace Pilot in the original, his battle prowess is emphasized more here.
    • Not only are his initial battles and victories before coming to Earth shown, but on Earth he goes full One-Man Army and single handedly wipes the floor with the White Base's 5 other mobile suits.
    • The Gouf also has a few minor upgrades to it. It trades its Hot Blade for a Laser Blade and its electric whip has an additional claw attachment to it.
  • The Alcoholic: An aspect of him that wasn't really present in the original MSG. His fiancee Hamon runs a bar, and most of his time in it is spent getting drunk or sleeping off drinks, typically to cope with the monumental amount of stress he deals with.
  • Alliterative Name: Usually on a Full-Name Basis, too.
  • Anti-Villain: Despite being a soldier of Zeon, he lacks the sadism and sociopathy of the other Zeon figures, able to recognize the shades of gray in all things.
  • Arc Villain: Of Volume 3, titled Ramba Ral.
  • Ascended Extra: The mentions of him having a role in Casval and Artesia's childhood are fleshed out much more here. In addition to his tenure as the Arc Villain he has a major role in the flashback arcs (and thus the Origin movies that adapt them). Ral's presence in the Zeon military is also given more of a focus with his influence felt long after his death. House Ral even plays a suprisingly pivitol role in the finale with one of Ral's supporters being a high ranking officer that rallies support behind Sayla's charge against the Zabi's.
  • Avenging the Villain: Comes to Earth to avenge Garma.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Under his professional demeanor it's clear he does have a lot of these traits and appreciates a good fight. The scenes pre-war dealing with Federation soldiers or the Tri-Stars highlight this.
  • Brains and Brawn: The Brawn to his girlfriend's Brains.
  • Colonel Kilgore: Though not a particularly unpleasant or unsympathetic one - he just really likes war. He does not however condone pointless slaughter, and is only interested in fighting opponents who can actually fight back.
  • Color Motif: Ral's classic blue color scheme is present here and even before the war his wardrobe was primarily blue. Even before the Gouf, his original two mechs both had blue color schemes. Hell, even his APC that he drove in the The Origin theatrical releases was colored blue.
  • Determinator: After Ral's Gouf is destroyed, he's denied his request for Doms, and he's left with only a single Zaku, he simply suits up in a commando uniform and leads his men in a boarding action to capture White Base.
  • Everybody Has Standards:
    • While he doesn't regret his loyalty to Zeon, Ramba draws the line when it comes to killing civilians. Most notably, he chose to accept a two rank demotion rather than take part in gassing a colony.
    • He also refuses to gun down the mob of Deikun supporters that crowd the family car, even though he very easily could and loudly threatens to.
  • Foil: While the original anime had signs of it, The Origin really plays up Ral to Char. The connection between the two is given much more focus with Ral and Char both supporting Zeon Deikun and hating the Zabi's. Ramba Ral and Char earned vastly different reputations as Zeon Aces; Ral becoming famous for being A Father to His Men and Char being famous for being a lone wolf. Ramba Ral is warm and boisterous while Char is cold and aloof. The series even establishes that Ral slaps blue paint-jobs on all of his mechs much like Char does with red paint.
  • Guile Hero: Not as much as Hamon, but Ramba can be tricky and cunning when he needs to be. He's also got an eye for figuring out what makes people tick and exploiting it if need be, as seen by his successful manipulation of the none-too-easy-to-manipulate Kycilia.
  • Heel Realization: He was part of the gassing mission that led to Operation British. But while he sulks in hiding with Hamon for a time, like Dozle he continues to fight for Zeon, though not for the Zabis.
  • Finger Firearms: The Gouf's left hand's fingers all function as heavy caliber vulcans.
  • In the Blood: Ramba's got a much better handle on himself than his father, but there are a couple of times when his self-control slips and you can see the passionate fervor of Jimba Ral in him. The scene where his buddies ship out in episode 5 is the most florid case; he goes from chill and dozing next to Hamon to screaming about the Zabis.
  • Full-Name Basis: Though sometimes just called "Ral".
  • Laser Blade: One of the most notable changes to the Gouf's arsenal in The Origin is that it's heat saber has been replaced with a green beam sword.
  • Opposites Attract: With Crowley Hamon. He's loud, cheerful, and leads from the front. She's quiet, graceful, and The Strategist.
  • Red Baron: Blue Giant
  • Villainous Friendship:
    • He and the soldiers under his command are on good terms as in the original. Origin shows that they were friendly even before the war and he, Hamon, Cozun, and Clamp would hang out together.
    • The prequel also expands on his relationship with Dozle. Even though he finds himself at odds with the Zabi family and what they stand for, he does have a respect for Dozle.
  • Worthy Opponent: Alternates between considering Amuro this and saying it's the Gundam.

    Crowley Hamon 

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (JP), Amanda Schuckman (EN)

Main mecha: Magella Attack

"I really did like you, kid."
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_22_at_74023_am.png

Ramba Ral's devoted girlfriend and Number Two, Crowley Hamon is the brains of the Blue Giant's outfit, planning strategy while he leads from the front. Quiet, composed, and always graceful, she makes quite the contrast with her Boisterous Bruiser partner.


  • Anti-Villain: She's explicitly heroic in the flashback scenes, and even when she becomes an antagonist nothing she does is outright evil. She's still a good person, she's just on the opposite side of the war.
  • Ascended Extra: While a major character in her own right, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin expounds her role considerably. Not to mention showing her role in getting Char and Sayla out as well as her time as a Glamorous Wartime Singer.
  • Avenging the Villain: She targets the White Base due to their role in Ramba Ral's death, and even before then, sought, alongside Ral, to avenge Garma Zabi.
  • Brains and Brawn: The brains to Ramba Ral's brawn.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Doesn't care if she lives or dies following Ral's death.
  • Lady of War: Establishes herself as one after Ral's death, piloting one of Zeon's tanks during her revenge strike on the White Base.
  • Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls her Hamon, including Ral, the only exception is Astraia.
  • Like a Son to Me: Per Word of God, since she never had any children with Ral, this is the basis for Hamon taking an interest in Amuro.
  • Near-Villain Victory: Leads the second most successful attack on the White Base, and is within seconds of destroying the Gundam and then the ship before she is defeated.
  • Opposites Attract: With Ramba Ral. He's loud, cheerful, and leads from the front. She's quiet, graceful, and The Strategist. They couldn’t be happier together.
  • Tank Goodness: The Origin increases her emphasis on tanks. During Char's youth she commandeers an early model of the Guntank to help take the Zeon children to safety. In the present she operates a Magella Attack Tank and comes fairly close to winning against the White Base's mobile suits.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Ramba Ral.
  • Unholy Matrimony: This or Ral's Dark Mistress.
  • Wife Husbandry: According to The Origin, she's known (and been in love with) Ramba Ral since she was a child, and he was at least college-aged.

    Clamp 

Voiced by: Hironori Kondou (JP), Joe Ochman (EN)

Ramba Ral's main lieutenant, Clamp is often the one piloting whatever central mobile base Ral's unit are occupying. He's known Ramba Ral and Crowley Hamon since before the war, having served as the bartender of Hamon's club. When the war started he enlisted in Zeon and eventually came to serve under Ral's unit.
  • The Bartender: He served as a bartender at Hamon's club before the war broke out. When Ral gets into a bar brawl with some disrespectful Federation officers, Clamp goes to wrap his knuckles first.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • When he and Ramba Ral launch their ill fated assault on White Base, he's quite shocked to see children aboard and when he blows open the command base he's yelling at the White Base staff to get them out of the way. It's likely that the children are what made him hesitate enough for Oscar and Mirai to shoot him.
    • He had originally left the military to help Hamon run a bar because he disagreed with the Federation and didn't want to be subcontracted to them. When the Republic of Zeon declares independence he leaves the position, telling Ral he hopes to work under him someday.
  • Mauve Shirt: One of the more recurring Zeon soldiers, he's characterized more than the average Red Shirt. The flashbacks even give him a bit of a backstory and show what he was up to before the war.
  • Mook Lieutenant: He wears the command soldier uniform and often relays Ramba Ral's or Hamon's orders to the troops. He leads one of the squads in the final fight.
  • Number Two: He answers directly to Ral and Hamon.
  • Odd Friendship: With Astraia Deikun of all people. She was the original main singer at the bar he worked at, and even met Zeon Deikun at it. When she's sick and in exile she asks Hamon how Clamp was doing.
  • Skintone Sclerae: Inverted. His eyes certainly move like the trope, with the eyeballs "blinking" or moving in a way that the entire eye should, but his sclerae are white like a normal eye.

    Cozun Graham 

Voiced by: Teruyuki Tanzawa (JP), Marc Thompson (EN)

Main mecha: MS-06 Zaku II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_22_at_83036_am.png

A soldier serving under Ramba Ral. Cozun was a comrade to Ral before the war and enlisted in Zeon partly in the hopes that he'd serve under him. During Loum he was deployed under Char Aznable and bore witness to his famous victory. Post Loum, Cozun was assigned to Ramba Ral's division and was one of his main back up soldiers alongside Acous. He was captured by the White Base during his second confrontation with them.


  • Adaptational Badass: His escape through White Base in the original was characterized by him largely dodging and avoiding the staff. Here he disarms a guard, steals his gun and cuts a bloody path through the Base's personal.
  • Adaptational Villainy: A Punch-Clock Villain in the original, Cozun is more brutal in The Origin. His interactions with Sayla are the most notable where in the original he was rather nice to her while here he acts a combination of lecherous and violent.
  • Is This Thing Still On?: Played With. Cozun has a transmitter disguised as a false tooth, and he uses it to get a signal to Ramba Ral while in prison. When Sayla talks to him though, he hides it (leaving it on). What he says isn't necessarily incriminating, but the presence of a signal from his cell is picked up by Bright and the bridge which clues them into him being a threat. Notably, this leads to greater ramifications for Sayla rather than him.
  • Mauve Shirt: Like Dren and Clamp, Cozun's a named recurring Zeon mook, characterized more than the average canon-fodder.
  • Villain Cred: Though he dismisses Char's achievements when Sayla asks about them; he was very impressed with the skill to which Char took out several battleships with only a bazooka. Cozun even offered Char some of his own ammunition after Char had run out but Char simply told him to keep it, so he may fight and gain some glory for himself.
  • Villainous Friendship: He serves under Ramba Ral because he respects the man and Ral in turn values his loyalty. Cozun fully believes that if Ramba Ral was at Loum he would have wracked up a kill count to rival Char's.

    Acous 

Main mecha: MS-06 Zaku II

A soldier serving under Ramba Ral. Acous was Ral's wingman alongside Cozun and the pair piloted Zaku's to back up his Gouf.


  • Off with His Head!: When he engages Daniel in the Guncannon, Acous knocks him to the ground. Unfortunately, Danny uses the angle to discharge one of his cannons up at Acous's Zaku, blowing its head off.
  • Red Shirt: In comparison to the more developed Cozun, Acous is just a background soldier with a name.

    Stetch 

Main mecha: MS-06 Zaku II

Another of Ramba Ral's soldiers. After Acous and Cozun's Zaku's are disabled, Stetch is given one and aids Ramba Ral in the field. When Ral's request for Doms are denied, Stetch is the only crewman with a functioning MS and aides in their final attack by providing covering fire.


  • The Brute: Of all Ramba Ral's soldiers, he's the muscle of the group. When he first deploys, his Zaku is armed with extra missile pods on the legs and a bazooka and he shells with White Base with them and some mortars. In their final battle he's the only one with an MS and thus provides the main external threat against the Base whilst his companions board it.
  • Composite Character: He combines Ral's two Zaku pilots after Acous and Cozun. The original Stetch only fought the White Base during Ral's counterattack and was destroyed when it blasted off. Stetch survives that encounter and replaces the Zaku pilot who aided in Ral's final offensive.
  • Miles Gloriosus: He has a tenancy to overestimate and overexert himself a flaw which get's on the normally even-tempered Ramba Ral's nerves. When he White Base escapes his first barrage he pursues it with a heat-hawk against Ral's orders.
  • Villainous Breakdown: His final confrontation with the Gundam has him going into a Why Won't You Die? rant.

    Tachi O'Hara 

Voiced by: Riki Kitazawa (JP), Edward Bosco (EN)

Main mecha: MS-05B Zaku I

"Things aren't always simple for the Feds or for Zeon. But... we will lose this war. Command is blind drunk on clever ploys, while house Zabi and company have devolved into a royal court. Above all, a Zeon that expends men of Ramba Ral's caliber as mere pawns has no future to speak of!"

A soldier from the intelligence division. Lieutenant Tachi was a comrade to Ramba Ral and Crowley Hamon from before the war though unlike Clamp and the others he was not assigned to Ral's division. After Ral's passing Hamon enlists his help with avenging him and he happily comes to her service.


  • Adaptational Badass: He puts up much more of a fight against the White Base and disables Kai's MS even though his Zaku II has been downgraded to a Zaku I in this version of the story. He has less to work with but he accomplishes more.
  • Ascended Extra: Easily one of the biggest examples in Origin to the point where the author commented on it. Tachi was simply a lieutenant under Hamon who showed up for a single episode whereas here he's got an entire backstory told in the flashback arc. Even his appearance in the present has him speak and develop far more than in the series.
  • Foreshadowing: His conversation with Hamon shows that he knows where the White Base will go even though the Federation planned an elaborate distraction. The plan was previously revealed at Jaburo with General Elran being a part of it and Tachi's knowledge of the operation comes from his position in the Intelligence division which indicates Elran's treachery.
  • Hidden Depths: A humble man who loved Hamon from a far, but was happy that she and Ral had found happiness together. Aside from his romantic life he makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he believes Zeon will fail as their leadership struggles against itself and squanders good soldiers.
  • I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He loved Hamon, but wanted her to be happy and seeing her happy with Ramba Ral was good enough for him. After Ral's passing he doesn't attempt to make a pass at her, but instead to help her fight the White Base because he's angry that her happiness was tarnished with them killing Ramba Ral.
  • Secret Secret-Keeper: Ultimately he figures out that Char is actually Casval and manages to relay enough of that information to Sayla that they figure it out for themselves. It's a feat seeing as how all previous knowers of the secret were eliminated.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In-Universe. Pre-war he was a meek but still competent ensign whilst when he appears to aid Hamon he carries himself with far more confidence and shows his skill as an MS pilot.

    Donovan Matgloss 

Voiced by: Mitsuru Ogata (JP), Tom Wayland (EN)

A Commander high up in the Zeon Structure. Donovan was the one to whom news of Artesia's return was brought to and he, being a member of Ramba Ral's company, immediately throws as many men as he has behind her.
  • Adaptational Early Appearance: He only shows up in The Origin at the story's end. He shows up in the very first OVA and takes on a subordinate role to Ral and his antics early on.
  • Call-Forward: The Movies identify the bispecaled soldier within Ral's group at the time of Deikun's death as Donovan and give him some extra scenes, setting up his relationship with Ral and his role late in the story.
  • Canon Foreigner: Donovan was invented for The Origin and is key to a subplot that is only present in this telling of the One Year War.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Upon hearing Artesia has returned, Donovan withholds that information from Kycilia especially in light of her coup. Instead he sets her free and backs her claim to Zeon's leadership, believing in her and wanting to honor Ral's legacy.

Boone's Forces

    Flanagan Boone 

The commander of an aquatic unit. Boone was assigned to a remote outpost in the tactically unimportant Belfast. Boone is quite surprised to see not only the Trojan Horse docking at the Federation base there, but the Federation upper brass and Char Aznable himself who rendezvous with his team. Boone now sees a chance to prove himself even if his men are difficult to get under control.


  • Hot Blooded Side Burns: Averted. Boone's massive sideburns are still present in this series, but he's the calmest of the Belfast men and tries to keep everything in check. Notably he doesn't rush out in the Grublo to confront Amuro like he did in the series.

    Karaha 

Main mecha: MSM-03 Gogg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/karaha.PNG

"Damn, can't wait any longer. I'll get jack done fighting down there with the fishies!"

A sergeant under Flanagan Boone. Karaha is a Gogg pilot and more than eager to prove himself. Upon seeing the Trojan Horse appear in Belfast he breaks rank to attack it dead on with his MS.


  • Beard of Evil: A small black goatee.
  • Blood Knight: He's drooling at the chance for a fight and to kill something.
  • Boom, Headshot!: The Guncannon scores a shot right through the Gogg's head, disabling Karaha's camera. It doesn't deter him in the slightest.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: He rushes the White Base, a massive armored fortress that is known for carrying several Mobile Suits, alone and without the possibility of backup.
  • Wolverine Claws: Iron Nails, the standard Zeon Aquatic Mobile Suit weapon. He slices through the Guntank's cannon easily with them.

    Braskinev 

Main mecha: MSM-10 Zock

A soldier under Boone. Braskinev was selected to pilot the Zock, a powerful experimental mobile suit that never left the prototype stage. More than anything, he's excited to try it out and prove himself.


  • The Brute: The Zock is far tougher and better armed than any of the other Aquatic Suits with the possible exception of the Mobile Armor Grublo. This makes Braskinev the squad's main heavy hitter.
  • More Dakka: The Zock is covered in a total of 9 cannons.

    Tokwan 

Main mecha: MAM-07 Grabro

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tokwan.PNG

"You're the funny Pilot! How about a little dive then?"

A soldier in Boone's unit. Tokwan pilots the Grabro Mobile armor during the attack on White Base.


  • Adaptational Job Change: A soldier in Zeon's space unit in the original anime, Tokwan is part of the Aquatic Corps. in The Origin.
  • Adaptational Early Appearance: Tokwan is a member of Boone's unit in this version and shows up on Earth before Odessa. Originally he appeared post-Odessa when the White Base had gone back into space.
  • Lightning Bruiser: The Grabro is a fast, heavily armed, heavily armored Mobile Armor. It catches up to the White Base all the while towing the Z'Gok and Zock.
  • Mythology Gag: Tokwan was the Bigro's pilot in the old series whereas here he replaces Boone as the Grabro's pilot; the Bigro's underwater equivalent.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Grabs the Gundam's leg and thrashes him around before snapping it off. This ends up as part of a Deliberate Injury Gambit that allows Amuro to close the distance between them.
    Amuro: "You did me a favor crushing my leg like that! Once you did, I was mobile again!"
  • Spell My Name With An S: Tokwan's mech has been translated differently over the years: Grublo, Grubro, Grabro. The translation used in Origin goes with Grabro.

Other Zeon Soldiers

    Lieutenant Commander Gadem 

Main mecha: MS-05B Zaku I

"Mobile suits aren't about firepower. They're for brawls!!"

The Captain of a Papua-Class Supply ship that goes to restock Char after Char's first encounter with the White Base left him low on ammunition and even lower on Zakus. Gadem responded to Dozle's order to resupply Char's Musai only for White Base to launch a surprise attack with their Guntanks and Guncannons. Gadem pilots an old Zaku I model and has done so since the start of the Mobile Suite programs.


  • Badass Boast: When he decides he's going down swinging against the Federation's superior numbers.
    "I, Lt. Commander Gadem, one of the pioneers of MS Grappling, will show you what a battle hardened veteran can do!!"
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: He firmly believes Mobile Suits are for brawls rather than long range combat.
  • Off with His Head!: The Guntank charges him and smashes his Zaku's head with a cannon barrel before blowing it off.
  • Old Soldier: Gadem's crotchety guy who's a lot older than the standard Mobile Suit Pilot.

    Master Sergeant Big John 

Main mecha: P01B Luggun

A pilot under Garma; when the White Base makes it to earth and defeats Garma's initial attack, Big John and his copilot are assigned to pursue them in their Luggun. When a ceasefire is declared, Big John helps to guide a ship of refugees from the White Base.


  • Pet the Dog: After he and his co-pilot abandon the Luggun in an escape pod, he offers it to a pair of refugees as it provides a safe place to sleep.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: As in the original. Big John's a professional and kind man who works for Zeon.

    Garcia Romeo 

Main mecha: MAX-03 Adzam

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_10_21_at_113937_pm_1.png

An uppity rear-admiral that commands the Zeon base nearest Jaburo. He's been engaging Federation forces in the area in hopes that he can finally break their defenses and destroy their main base.


  • Aristocrats Are Evil: His wealth makes it clear he's a Zeon aristocrat.
  • Canon Foreigner: He's completely original to The Origin. That said he does borrow a lot from M'Quve and fulfills a similar role.
  • Death by Looking Up: When the Adzam enters into Jaburo, Garcia goes to the lookout on top of the Mobile Armor to see where the enemy is. At that point the Federation detonate part of the ceiling and use the debris to disorientate the Zeon forces. Garcia looks up to see a chunk of the ceiling baring down on him and he is crushed.
  • Expy: From his position as the Adzam's pilot to his extravagant dress Garcia's one for M'Quve albeit without M'Quve's competence and dignity.
  • General Failure: Char's tactical errors at Jaburo are given to him instead and he ends up hopelessly out-matched by the Federations newly unveiled Mobile Suits. The whole reason he deployed a full-scale assault on Jaburo was because he thought Char would steal his thunder.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Lambasts M'Quve for his vase collecting as he views it as a decadent indulgence; Garcia then implies that he's a wine connoisseur himself. Similarly Garcia lives in far more aristocratic luxury than many of Zeon's other commanders.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: As much as he prides himself as a great commander, Garcia is immensely jealous of Char and M'Quve. This is compounded by his lack of progress in taking Jaburo, a failure which is making his superiors lose faith in him.
  • Smug Snake: His defining characteristic is that he's a smug self-assured Upper-Class Twit who comically embarrasses himself.
  • Villainous Valor: He's an idiot and a glory hound but Garcia isn't a coward and when he orders the attack on Jaburo he leads it from the front in his Adzam. When they end up stuck in a zero visibility area he goes to the Mobile Armor's lookout personally to try and scout the area with a pair of night vision goggles.

    M'Quve 

Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (JP), Ezra Weisz (EN)

Main mecha: YMS-15 Gyan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_09_18_at_103640_pm.png
"Come if you dare!"

Kycilia Zabi's right-hand man, the aristocratic M'Quve represents his mistress on Earth, commanding her troops in the desert, and leading Zeon's forces at the Battle of Odessa. Totally loyal to Kycilia, M'Quve has an ingrained distrust of Char Aznable. Despite all appearances, he is a skilled mobile suit pilot.


  • Ace Custom: The YMS-15 is M'Quve's pet project, a powerful and agile Mobile Suit specialized in melee combat. Though it only sees combat once in The Origin, he manages to decimate a GM patrol with it and destroy several battleships in a suicide attack. At the end, M'Quve states that he does not want the Gyan mass-produced, feeling that it's single use and outing should become synonymous with him. Only a single other one was made and it was a failed attempt to capture old glory.
  • Adaptational Heroism: Like the Compilation movies, M'Quve has many of his more villainous moments removed, unlike the Compilation movies he has several heroic moments added to his character.
    • He still withholds the Doms from Ramba Ral's group, but unlike in the original he's more honest and upfront about his reasoning (they're beginning major operations and cannot spare their top of the line suits). While not necessarily a sympathetic move, M'Quve originally deferred the shipment because of petty politics between the Zeon factions while here his reasoning is less self-serving.
    • M'Quve's view of his men as expendable is cut down severely. He still has an air of a Surrounded by Idiots mentality about him, but he does take a number of measures to keep his men safe culminating in his decision to cut their losses at Odessa lest more people die.
    • In the end he refuses to obey an order to launch a nuclear holocaust after the fall of Odessa. Then he takes his Gyan out to personally fight the Federation soldiers in a last stand to make sure his soldiers can survive and he ultimately detonates his Gyan amidst some Federation Battleships which were trying to shoot down his fleeing troops.
  • Adaptational Job Change: Downplayed. While he is a colonel in the anime (the same rank as Garma), in The Origin he has been promoted to lieutenant general. Additionally, he leads the Zeon Earth Attack Force instead of Garma.
  • Agent Mulder: Like in the Compilation Movies, the Newtype plot is brought up much earlier in the series. M'Quve's discussion of it with Gaia makes it clear that he thinks it's just Federation propaganda.
  • Agent Peacock: M'Quve is a swishy snob with an upper class accent, effeminate hobbies (including antiquing), and an ascot. He's also the man behind the capture and occupation of much of Earth and when he finally enters the fray he tears through Federation Mobile Suits with ease.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: Invoked by his wealth, obvious connections to the Zeon upperclass, and total ruthlessness.
  • "Ass" in Ambassador: His first job for Kycilia is to be her point man in peace talks with the Federation... but his job isn't to actually negotiate peace, it's to be a hardline Jerkass and keep the war going.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: At first he appears just a sissy villain. Then the White Base finally gains his personal attention... And he swats it out of the sky. The White Base was not completely destroyed only because he was too much in a hurry to finish the job...
  • Camp Straight: Most likely, given the nature of his relationship with Kycilia.
  • The Chessmaster: M'Quve doesn't leave a hell of a lot to chance.
  • Close-Range Combatant: His Gyan is meant primarily as a close combat suit, with excellent reflexes and agility, and a primary armament of a beam rapier.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Subverted. While his command style relies on sabotage and a key Federation betrayal, as an MS pilot he's a fairly straight-forward fighter. The Gyan is predominantly a close-range combat suit with a mid-range projectile weapon built into the shield and he uses this to his advantage. Unlike his fight in the original series, there's no traps, no bombs, and no MS team to outmaneuver a single target.
  • Cultured Warrior: M'Quve is famous for being Zeon's foremost expert on Earth Culture, a competent commander, and a deadly fighter.
  • Cyber Cyclops: The Gyan.
  • Demoted to Extra: While he was a major presence in the cartoon for much of the White Base's time on earth, he's relegated to the background for most of The Origin. Though he takes center stage in Volume 8, much of his other appearances are in fairly minor roles. He never confronts the Gundam with the Adzam and his battle in Texas Colony is given to Challia Bull (though much of that confrontation was merged with his conflict at Odessa). While he remained a threat post-Solomon, he dies much earlier at the Battle of Odessa.
  • The Dragon: As the main Zeon General on Earth M'Quve is this to Kycilia and, surprisingly enough, Gihren. He's the one entrusted to take the fight to Revil and the Federation and he's the final Zeon foe for the Earth-based stories.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's an awful person, but his devotion to Kycilia is unquestionable.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: When they lose Odessa Gihren gave him the order to fire all of their ballistic weapons at various Federation cities. M'Quve refuses.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Affects an upperclass attitude and tone, but at his core is cold-blooded and ruthless.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Aside from Kycilia, nobody really seems to like the guy. Char and he don't get along as per the original MSG, but here Dozle also makes his (rather poor) opinion of M'Quve known.
  • Klingons Love Shakespeare: In terms of Zeonic Ideology he fits the bill. So many of the Zeon people buy into the Spacenoid rhetoric that they are a new evolved species, distinct from humanity. It's part of the reason they look down on Earth and humans in general. M'Quve, in contrast, loves Earth and is fascinated by the various histories and cultures within it, in spite of being a Spacenoid. Kycilia even comments on how odd that makes him.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em: Like Kycilia, M'Quve knows when he's beat. He doesn't like it, but he's aware of it.
  • Lady and Knight: The Black Knight to Kycilia Zabi's Dark Lady. He is utterly loyal to her, right unto death, and the Gyan is even designed to resemble a knight.
  • Lean and Mean: As skinny as his boss.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Gyan comes equipped with round buckler shield, itself equipped with missile launchers.
  • Macross Missile Massacre: The Gyan's shield is equipped with fifty-six missile launchers, enabling it to create one of these with ease.
  • Man of Wealth and Taste: One of Zeon's richest commanders, and a connosieur of fine art - antique vases in particular.
  • Mean Boss: M'Quve of the original had some Bad Boss tendencies whilst here he's been downgraded to this. He's not all together happy with the competence of many of his subordinates, but he pointedly averts We Have Reserves.
  • Nuke 'em: After losing the Battle of Odessa he fires an ICBM at the Federation forces.
  • Outdated Outfit: Resembles a refugee from the 18th century.
  • The Paranoiac: He asks Kycilia for assurances than he and his men won't be used as sacrificial pawns. Considering who he's talking to, this is very sensible behavior on his part, but still falls into this.
  • Rich Bitch: M'Quve is very well off and enjoys demonstrating that wealth to everyone.
  • Royal Rapier: M'Quve's a fencer and the Gyan comes equipped with a beam rapier for this very reason.
  • Sissy Villain: He's got the fancy clothes, swishy wrists, mincing motions, and cultured tone of voice one associates with this villain type.
  • Smug Snake: He isn’t incompetent, but his ego has clearly grown past the point where it would be justified.
  • The Stoic: He's a lot less emotive than original flavor M'Quve and mostly seems to keep the same expression of aristocratic disdain as if it was permanently chiseled onto his face.
  • The Strategist: He leads the White Base around by the nose for quite a while.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Earlier transliterations spell his name as "Makube", meant to be pronounced "Mah-Koo-Bay" with inflection on the first syllable. The official transliteration since the beginning of the 2000s was M'Quve, pronounced "Muh-Koo-Vay" with inflection on the second syllable. This second spelling and pronunciation is odd for a number of reasons. Most notiecably, it makes his name appear to be Swahili in origin. But given Gundam's tendency for characters of ambiguous race or ethnicity, M'Quve, despite his European looks, could very well be a mixture of anything.
  • Subordinate Excuse: Possibly towards Kycilia, whom he was very devoted to.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Kycilia; with his last words he instructs one of his subordinates to deliver his prized Ming vase to her.
  • Villainous Cheekbones: Just like his boss.
  • Wicked Cultured: He's Zeon's foremost expert in Earth Culture and he's an admirer of art, especially vases. In Volume 7 he can be seen at an Art Museum admiring the collection and pointing out which of the pieces are fake.

    Uragang 

Main mecha: Gouf

M'Quve's second in command at Odessa. Uragang acts as a go between between M'Quve and his minions and he is the one to speak with Ramba Ral during his arrival on Earth. He helped organize operations at Odessa and assisted in the Zeon evacuation.


  • Adaptational Badass: Never indicated to be an MS pilot in the original whereas here M'Quve states that Uragang is a Gouf pilot and orders his platoon to back him up during his last stand.
  • Adaptational Comic Relief: While not a particularly serious nor funny character in the original, Uragang is fairly comedic character in The Origin and has something of a Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey dynamic with his boss.
  • Ascended Extra: Not only does he make much more appearances but he shows up in a Post-Climax Confrontation in the series epilogue and serves as the main villain.
  • Undying Loyalty: Uragang really did believe in M'Quve.
  • The Watson: Much of his role in the story is to give M'Quve someone to play off of and explain his plans and motivations. This is especially prevalent during M'Quve's final speech which is delivered solely to Uragang.

    The Black Tri-Stars 

Gaia voiced by: Kazuya Ichijō (JP), David Vincent (EN)

Ortega voiced by: Kenichiro Matsuda (JP), Doug Erholtz (EN)

Mash voiced by: Toshihide Tsuchiya (JP), Tom Wayland (EN)

Main mecha: Zaku I, Zaku II High-Mobility, Dom

The nickname of Gaia, Ortega, and Mash, a trio of Ace Pilots famous for capturing Admiral Revil at the start of the war. They're currently serving under M'quve, and have been assigned Zeon's deadly new Dom suits with which to hunt down the White Base.


  • Ace Custom: Their Doms and Zaku I's were standard issue, but their Zaku II's were customized for their personal use for extra speed and mobility.
  • Ace Pilot: Amongst the first Zeon aces Amuro faces.
  • Adaptational Villainy:
    • While not to Kycilia or Char's extent, the Tri-Stars are quite a bit more battle-hungry here. While in the original they were Zeon soldiers, but not particularly malicious; their conflict with Amuro wasn't personal and even Ortega's killing of Matilda was less of a Kick the Dog and more just what happens in a war. In Origin they're a trio of Blood Knights who heartily embrace combat and the ability to cut down their enemies.
    • The movies even add to this. When Professor Minovsky is killed in the book it was according to the mission with one of the Zaku's crushing him with a damaged Guncannon. In the movies it's explicitly Gaia ignoring Ramba Ral's orders and killing him with a glee that was largely absent from the manga.
  • Ascended Extra: They were only in 2 episodes of the original series, but the Origin use them as recurring Zeon soldiers often given face time and lines whenever there's a major Zeon movement. Here they're established as key soldiers in Zeon, having been some of their first pilots back when they were developing Mobile Suits.
  • Attack Pattern Alpha: Their 'Jet Stream Attack', which uses their Doms' superior speed and manoeuvrability to land several hits on an enemy suit in rapid succession. Back when they were operating their Zaku I's they can be seen performing a similar technique when they engage the Guncannons. Unfortunately for them, Amuro figures out the pattern after the first time they use it on him, and turns it to his advantage.
  • The Brute: While they're all powerful, Ortega fills this for the group. Often times he depicted as the most physical and his choice of Melee weapons gives him the role of "the muscle."
  • Divergent Character Evolution: Downplayed. The Trio are made a bit more distinct here: Mash is more of a cackling Smug Snake, Gaia is more laid back but keeps a handle on the other two, and Ortega is the hot-head of the three. Even their Zaku II's are personalized: Mash wields an Anti-ship rifle, Ortega is The Brute and has a giant heat-hawk, and Gaia uses a Bazooka and his Zaku has identical shield shoulders rather than the shield and spikes combo all the others have.
  • The Dreaded: Amongst both the Federation and the Zeon soldiers, the Black Tri-Stars are an infamous group of pilots who's accomplishments, no matter how unflatteringly compared to Char's they are, were some of the most lauded. Of the trio it's clear Gaia is the most feared as it was he and Char who lead the MS teams in the battle of Loum.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: After seeing Hayato easily kick the ass of several Zeon officers, Ortega offers to take him on. Mash talks him down from beating up the teenager, telling him "not to act like a punk."
  • Gonk: None of them are exactly male-model material, but while Gaia and Mash are merely plain, Ortega has a face only an elephant seal could love.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Mash has one over his right eye.
  • Hot-Blooded: Ortega's easily the most emotional and hot headed of the group and can often be seen yelling his head off.
  • Lightning Bruiser: All of the Tri-Stars suits are built to be strong and fast.
    • Their Zaku I's may be some of the series's weaker suits, but at the time they were deployed they ran circles around the original Guncannons deployed to fight them. They were much more agile and tough than the mobile suit at the time.
    • Their Zaku II's were upgraded for High Mobility, allowing them much more speed and reaction time than the average Zaku II. Similar to their Zaku I's, their armor, at the time, was a cut above much of their enemies.
    • Their Dom's are Zeon's heavy assault suit, an armored battering ram floating on two powerful thermonuclear thrusters. They're fast, tough, and a lot more heavily-armed than the Zaku.
  • Named by the Adaptation: They all had one name in the original, but during Zeon's war council, Gaia is given a first name, Miguel.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: They're really good pilots, and have taken down a warship with mecha-sized polearms-it's just that Char and Ramba Ral are better, and they meet Amuro when he has survived the previous two.
  • The Resenter: Ortega dislikes Char for his flashiness and higher skill level.
  • Terrible Trio: They're on the more competent end of the trope, though it doesn't save them against Amuro.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Discussed. After the battle with the White Base that ends in Mash's death, Gaia wonders if they underestimated the crew. The Gundam was a lot more powerful than they thought, but even without knowing that the Tri-Stars entered the engagement fighting as hard as they could.
  • Villainous Friendship: A team of evil Bash Brothers, they were good buddies before the war and well into it.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: While his role is expanded from the original, Mash isn't as defined a character as Ortega and Gaia and like in the original he's the first to die.

    Zenna Zabi née Mia 

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (JP), Erin Fitzgerald (EN)

Zenna Mia was a Zeon citizen from Moore who eagerly leapt at the call for Side 3's independence. She joined the military and in class she was a friend of Garma and Char's, placing 8th in marks. She was to distract Dozle whilst Garma and Char enacted their uprising and the two fell in love. She would go on to marry Dozle and they had a daughter together, Mineva.


  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Was somewhat plain-looking in the original. Here, her younger self is given a slight makeover that makes her look more like her daughter, Mineva.
  • Ascended Extra: Zenna's role in the original anime was very brief and subsequent stories focused more on her daughter. Here she gets a number of scenes to herself and her backstory is given.
  • Happily Married: She threatened to shoot him, he rants about the necessity of Zeon's conquest; they couldn't be happier together.
  • Morality Pet: She and Mineva bring forth a lot of Dozle's kindness and humanity.

    Challia Bull 

Main mecha: Brow Bow

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/challia_9.PNG
A soldier previously with a team deployed to Jupiter. Challia Bull was brought to the Flanagan Institute as part of their Newtype program after discovering his affinity. He's the second strongest in their unit only behind Lalah. During the White Base's attack on Texas Colony he goes out in the Brow Bow to stop them.
  • Adaptational Badass: Fairly strong in the original series (disabling the other two MS's before taking on the Gundam), Challia Bull decimates Amuro's back up, disabling three Guncannons and killing Danny. The machine's also able to take several direct hits from Amuro's beam rifle and it took only 1 to destroy it back in the original series.
  • Adaptational Villainy: The original Challia Bull was the definition of a Punch-Clock Villain, loyal to Zeon but also a mild-mannered kind old man. There was no real malice to his actions beyond serving the empire. In Origin Challia Bull's much more unhinged and despises Lalah for being better than him. He's far more fanatically devoted to Zeon and much more violent in his fight against the Federation.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: He was very laid back and stoic in the original but here he's much more angry and expressive. It may just be the Newtype abilities taking their toll on his psyche as the Flanagan Institute wasn't the most ethical of places.
  • Age Lift: Challia Bull is changed from an old man to a much younger one, looking like Ramba Ral during Char's youth.
  • Villainous Breakdown: As Amuro disables his Mobile Armor, Challia Bull flashes back to his appointment to the Newtype Corps. by Gihren himself and begins to cry, not being able to serve the Zabis in as great as a capacity as he'd wanted.

    Simus Al Bakharov 

Main mecha: Brow Bow

A Newtype soldier deployed during the final days of the war in the defense of A Baoa Qu. A determined soldier from the Flanagan Institute, she squares off against Sayla.


  • Adaptational Badass: In the original Simus was simply a scientist for the Newtype Institute whereas here she's not only a Newtype soldier but seems to be the third most powerful in the Flanagan Institute behind Challia Bull and Lalah Sune.
  • Dark Action Girl: She's been recast in this role from a simple Non-Action Guy. Simus is a decently skilled Mobile Armor pilot and Newtype and she shoots down a number of GM's at A Baoa Qu.
  • Hold the Line: She managed to carve out such a niche of destruction that the normally chaotic space battle ended up with a clear battle line drawn by her Brow Bow which Zeon attempted to rally behind.

Others

    Icelina Eschonbach 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_11_08_at_70455_pm.png

The daughter of the mayor, Icelina falls in love with Garma Zabi when he occupies Los Angeles.


  • Adaptational Villainy: Icelina goes from being a token Category Traitor in love with Garma and not caring about politics to a full-fledged La Collaboratrice who sells her father and the Federation out to her boyfriend and his family.
  • Karma Houdini: Although she loses Garma and her father, nothing happens to her for aiding the enemy, unlike many examples in this series.
  • The Mole: She passes information to Garma about her father's anti-Zeon resistance activities.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Her name is pronounced either "Eeesehleena" (English) or "eeesehreena" (Japanese). Nothing to do with "ice".
  • Spared by the Adaptation: As in the compilation movies, her futile quest for revenge that ends with her death is cut.

    Joseph Eschonbach 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_11_08_at_70435_pm_6.png

The mayor of Los Angeles and Icelina's father. Eschonbach at one point was a presidential candidate before settling down as the city's mayor. Though he hosts the Zeon military, Eschonbach is a Federation sympathizer and secretly plots against them. Icelina's attraction to Garma incenses him greatly.


  • Adaptational Badass: While he disliked the Zabis in the original, he never moved against them. Here he's a rebel leader.
  • Ascended Extra: There was very little to him in the original beyond being Icelina's father and being an obstacle between her and Garma (him having a disdain for the Zabis). Here he has his own subplot.
  • Hero Antagonist: His rebellion and his appearances are almost entirely within the context and POV of Garma and Char (and Icelina to an extant) and as it's from their view he is the antagonist.
  • La Résistance: The Federation forces in Los Angeles answer to him as do the Anti-Zeon factions in the city.
  • Out-Gambitted: When it's revealed that he heads the resistance, it's also revealed that Garma already knows of him and his forces and plans to outmaneuver them easily. He intends to defeat them and use that failure as leverage against Eschonbach. As Garma dies, the Zeon soldiers do not bother with this and go to arrest him; Eschonbach pulls a gun on them and then is shot to death.
  • Parents as People: He and Icelina butt heads a lot and he does strike her. Though he tries to be a good father, he is weighed down by the responsibilities he has as a politician, and hates the thought of his daughter marrying a Zabi.

    Kamaria Ray 
"Is this because I let his father raise him...?"

Amuro's mother stayed on Earth when he and his father went into Space. When the war brings them together again, Kamaria has intense difficulty reconciling the sweet boy she remembers with a young soldier who now shoots to kill — and Amuro finds himself similarly upset.


  • Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: When Kamaria says goodbye to Amuro there's a car waiting for her with a man in it. In the epilogue Amuro speculates that it was her boyfriend.
  • Calling the Old Woman Out: Inverted and subverted. Kamaria is truly horrified and justifiably traumatized at Amuro shooting someone in front of her eyes, and scolds and shames him for it. For his part, Amuro does NOT get into Kamaria essentially abandoning him, but he does very angrily and heartbrokenly accuse her of not loving him, refuses to believe her when she says otherwise, then flees to blow more things up in a rage before they can talk it out.
  • Generation Xerox: Despite what Kamaria thinks and says, Amuro clearly gets his looks, his moodiness, and his temper from her.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Kamaria might sound heartless and illogical when she starts talking about enemy soldiers having families, but she's not living in the middle of a battlefield day after day, and does represent a pretty fair noncombatant viewpoint. She and her son have a fair argument.
  • Missing Mom: In both senses. She's seen her only child a handful of times in the last decade, and it's rapidly apparent Amuro misses her pretty badly. It's also invoked to the point where Amuro is amazed she's still alive.
  • Mood Whiplash: Her reunion with Amuro goes from joyful and touching with her babying him to nightmarish, in an instant.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: After Amuro runs out on her.
  • No Name Given: Averted. In the original show she was just called "Mom" and her name was All There in the Manual. She's called Kamaria several times in The Origin.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Kamaria's left talking in disbelief to his wooden doll at one point. "He wouldn't hurt a fly..."

    Jimba Ral 

Voiced by: Chafurin (JP), Doug Stone (EN)

The father of Ramba Ral and head of the House of Ral; Jimba Ral was one of Zeon Deikun's inner circle. He has a longstanding rivalry with Degwin Zabi and upon Zeon's death, he takes his family under his protection. Jimba Ral is convinced that Degwin had Zeon Deikun assassinated and his words have a big impact on the impressionable Casval Deikun.


  • Adaptational Jerkass: In the original continuity, he raised the Deikun children together under the Mass alias with his wife, and the one-second glimpse we had of him in Sayla's memory seemed to make him out to be a kindly and caring man. Most of this characterization now seems to have been transferred to Don Teabolo, whereas Ral is now a bitter, ranting Conspiracy Theorist who may have planted troubling seeds in sociopathic Casval.
  • Avenging the Villain: He tries to avenge Zeon Deikun but ultimately he can never muster the resources nor the support.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: He is convinced that Degwin Zabi killed not only Degwin but his own son Sasro as well in order to frame Jimba himself. Jimba Ral is incredibly paranoid and constantly worries that everyone's out to get him. He's not always wrong as Degwin goes through great lengths to discredit and destroy the House of Ral and though he did not kill Sasro, Sasro's death was used to turn public opinion against him. The matter of Zeon's death is ambiguous to this day, but Jimba Ral does make a fairly convincing case that he was assassinated.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: He's stabbed to death by an assassin and the speech bubbles and wound placement indicate that his lung was punctured and he drowned in his own blood.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: As much of an opportunistic coward that he is, he did make an effort to keep Astraia and her children safe and he really did believe in Zeon Deikun.
  • Face Death with Dignity: The second movie adds a bit more dignity to Jimba Ral's violent end. Though he's old and feeble he still curses out the assassin that runs him through, correctly deducing that he is one of the Zabis' goons.
  • Full-Name Basis: Much like his son, Jimba Ral is usually referred to by his whole name.
  • Old Retainer: House Ral was a major supporter of House Deikun and when both houses collapse only he is left to serve Artesia and Casval.
  • Parental Substitute: He and Teabolo temporarily care for the Deikun children in exile. Artesia has far fewer nice things to say about his parenting, while Casval seemingly is indifferent. However...
  • Parents as People: He's a Zeon fanatic first and all else second. His relationship with his son is cool at best and while he seeks to raise the Deikun children he also uses them to his own ends and tries to further Deikun's agenda.
  • Strawman Emotional: If Jimba Ral was a woman, he'd fit the old Hysterical Woman trope like a glove, to the point that if his character had to be summed up in a single word, "undignified" would probably be the best choice. Whether he's ranting and raving or embarrassing his son with Inelegant Blubbering, this Jimba is pathologically incapable of reacting to any serious situation with anything less than hysterics.

    Don Teabolo Mass 

Voiced by: Kouichi Makishima (JP), Mike Pollock (EN)

A friend of Jimba Ral's, who escapes with Casval and Artesia to Teabolo's estate in Spain when the three flee to Earth. Teabolo becomes the adoptive father of the Deikuns and renames them Sayla and Edouard Mass. He and his wife could never have kids and after she passed away he found new happiness as a father. Even though he knew Jimba would bring him into new harebrained political schemes, he went along with it because of his love for the children.
  • Big Fun: An overweight and jolly man. Teabolo is easily one of the kindest characters in Casval and Artesia's childhoods. His weight would eventually kill him, as he died from a heart condition during the Battle of Loum.
  • Canon Foreigner: He was wholly created for the Origin. Granted, he answers the question as to where Sayla's name came from.
  • Disney Villain Death: Subverted. When Kycilia's assassins raid his house, kill his doctors, his guards, Jimba Ral, and try to kill him, he accidentally falls out of a window. Though it was quite a fall, Teabolo is one of the only people to survive the raid even if he ends up in critical condition, and spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair, only able to walk with the aid of a cane for short periods of time.
  • Kevlard: In a bit of dark self-deprecating humor he credits his girth as the reason for his survival when he fell from the tower.
  • Nice Guy: A very pleasant and kind man who raised Artesia and Casval as best he could. His debut scene has him discussing how to best donate his estate to help house refugees. His biggest conditions were that the Federation's standards of order and hygiene are maintained.
  • Only Friend: Near the end of his life, Jimba Ral admits this about Teabolo as all of his other friends have been killed or remain at Side 3.
  • Parental Substitute: Alongside Jimba Ral, he raises Casval and Artesia.

    Yuki and Fang Li 

Yuki voiced by: Kensho Ono (JP), Chris Hackney (EN)

Fang Li voiced by: Asami Seto (JP), Laura Post (EN)

A pair of Star-Crossed Lovers from Hatte's Island Iffish colony, which is targeted by Zeon for their pro-Federation stance. They both have bright futures ahead of them and dream of going to Earth together after the political unrest has quelled, but both become casualties of the infamous Operation British.


  • A Million Is a Statistic: Yuki and Fang Li are shown to viewers specifically to avert this, as the Operation British incident was before Origin a firm example of this trope in action. Through the brief story of these two, we are shown the humanity of Island Iffish's inhabitants, which emphasizes the pure evil Zeon committed by murdering them.
  • Child Soldier: Yuki is a volunteer member of the colony's militia and stands guard with a rifle as the citizens evacuate to shelters.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Anyone familiar with UC Gundam is no stranger to seeing the bodies of those killed by poison gas, but Yuki's protracted demise shows viewers for the first time exactly what such a death would look like, and it isn't pretty.
  • Dead Star Walking: Yuki upholds a proud Gundam tradition of doomed minor characters voiced by prestigous seiyuus, and the anime even makes him look a bit like Kensho Ono.
  • Desecrating the Dead: What makes the fall of Island Iffish unsettling as well as horrifying is seeing it descend to low orbit and start to burn up in Earth's atmosphere and then remembering that Yuki and Fang Li's bodies are still in it somewhere. Whether their bodies burned up in re-entry, were jettisoned and doomed to drift in Earth orbit, or fell to Earth with one of the three colony pieces, in any case whatever happened to them is a firm example of this.
  • Determinator: Yuki lasts the longest against the GG poison gas and even after collapsing he keeps crawling toward the shelter on pure force of will, unaware that everyone else including Fang Li is already dead.
  • Doomed Hometown: It's not just these two that die, their entire colony is destroyed as well.
  • Dying Dream: In a cruel twist of fate, the boy who's name can mean "snow" (though it technically means "brave", as he informs Fong Li) has a hallucination of walking through a Narnia-esque winter forest as his body slowly and painfully succumbs from ingestion of poison gas.
  • Foregone Conclusion: Anyone remotely familiar with UC Gundam's storyline knows these two are going to die the second they show up.
  • Gut Punch: Not that The Origin was particularly lighthearted before this, but the grim deaths of these two combined with the horrifying fate of their home make it clear to viewers that shit just got real.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Anyone who knows The Federation's track record in Gundam knows Yuki is this when he confidently promises Fang Li the Federation will come to save their colony.
  • Kill the Cutie: They're young and pure and innocent and this is, after all, the Universal Century and the apocalyptic part of the One Year War, so of course they're going to die horribly.
  • Never Got to Say Goodbye: Yuki tries to enter the shelter but doesn't have the strength to get inside, so he and Fang Li die with a door of reinforced steel between them.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: It's no exaggeration to say that Yuki and Fang Li exist solely to die.
  • Youthful Freckles: Yuki has them to emphasize his youth and innocence.

    Cameron Bloom 
"Mirai! Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it!"
A lawyer who works for the government of Side 6, wealthy Cameron and his family fled there to avoid the carnage at the start of the One Year War. Pre-war, he and Mirai were engaged by parental arrangement, but she hasn't seen or spoken to him in months, and they have differing feelings encountering one another when White Base docks in Riah late in the war.
  • Arranged Marriage: His parents and Mirai's seemingly arrange this while Mirai is still in school and before the war. The wedding doesn't take place.
  • Cowardly Lion: Becomes this when he uses his own shuttle to escort the White Base out of Side 7. During a battle''.
  • Dirty Coward: Mirai seems to think this of him when she learns Cameron used his money to look for her instead of trying himself — until Sleggar's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to him and Mirai.
  • Romantic False Lead: Played with. He's scarcely mentioned until three-fourths of the way through the show, let alone showing up even later, and he's not the first guy to show interest in Mirai (the third). It is established he's the first one to be in a relationship with her, though, and Mirai has very conflicting emotions from the moment he appears again. With the paths the war have put them on, he is pretty obviously the wrong guy for her, however.
  • You Wouldn't Hit a Guy with Glasses: Doesn't even get to ask; Sleggar is polite enough to just take them off him first, and hand them back afterward.

    Miharu Ratokie 
A Federation civilian and Zeon spy, Miharu strikes up a friendship with Kai, eventually accompanying him aboard the White Base.
  • Anti-Villain: She is spying for a fascist dictatorship, yeah, but only because she needs the money to raise her younger siblings.
  • Becoming the Mask: Is sent to spy on the White Base. However, she falls in love with Kai and sees that the crew has children among their protegees, and starts questioning herself...
  • Girlish Pigtails: They reinforce her Innocent Flower Girl look.
  • Heel–Face Turn: A pretty rapid one. Some people just aren't cut out to be spies.
  • I Let Gwen Stacy Die: For Kai.
  • Innocent Flower Girl: She sells pastries and not flowers, but otherwise fits in perfectly.
  • Only in It for the Money: She badly need the money to support her younger siblings and doesn't really care for the two warring factions.
  • Promotion to Parent: Has two little siblings, Milly and Gill, whom she takes care of after their parents died in the war.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: She's got absolutely zero grudge against the Federation - she just needs to feed her family, and Zeon pays well for information.
  • Redemption Equals Death: Dies as a result of firing the Gunperry's last missile, her first act on the side of the heroes of the story.
  • Slipknot Ponytail: Her Girlish Pigtails come undone when she's knocked out of the Gunperry by the backblast from its missiles, falling to her death.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Kai. He is the Jerk with a Heart of Gold that has recently discovered he cannot abandon his friends when they are in danger. She is The Mole trying to sell his friends to the enemy.

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