A list of characters of the light novel and OVA series Gundam Unicorn.

For further information about the past characters who reappear in this anime, go to the Universal Century (UC) Folder and look for Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ and Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. Be aware of massive spoilers though. You have been warned.

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Civilians

Banagher Links

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/banagher_2576.jpg

Main mecha: RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, RX-0 Full Armor Unicorn Gundam

"I don't have that resolve, no. All I know is I need her to need me."

Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese), Steve Staley^note (English)

A sixteen-year-old student attending Anaheim Electronics Industrial College alongside his friends, Banagher seems to have a contented life despite essentially living on the school's suffrage thanks to having no contact with his father and his mother dying when he was young. His life drastically changes when he encounters Audrey, a young woman who seeks to prevent a war. His instant devotion to her results in him Falling into the Cockpit of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, becoming embroiled in a resurgent conflict between the Earth Federation Forces and The Remnant of Char's Neo-Zeon movement, now known as the "Sleeves".

Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: In Episode 7, he nearly merges with the Unicorn, causing the Psycoframe to crystallize and turning it into an incredibly powerful unit, with the ability to disable entire fleets of mobile suits with a wave of its hand. Only by remembering his promise to Audrey to return snaps him back.
All-Loving Hero: To the point that he attracts enemies from all sides because he refuses to fight any side.
Cain and Abel: The Abel to Alberto's Cain.
Action Survivor: For a regular kid, he can protect himself from the Sleeves quite well. It probably has something to do with his training.
Always Save the Girl: Banagher starts out like this; his first motivation for getting involved is because of Audrey.
Because You Were Nice to Me: His desire to be needed by Audrey is because she made him feel like he belonged.
Birds of a Feather: One of the reasons Banagher latches onto Audrey so fast is because they both were "always on the move" as children. He later starts to develop some of this with Marida as well, after discovering that they're both Newtypes.
Bodyguard Crush: Towards Audrey.
The Chosen One: In a way, only to him does the Unicorn respond without too much negative side effects, and it is he who eventually "tames" its potentially violent Superpowered Evil Side.
Conflicting Loyalty: Most of the series consists of him trying to figure out which side, if any, he wants to be on.
Declaration of Protection: Possibly nearing Type 6, indicating from Banagher's conversation with Cardeas Vist.
Cardeas: "You've come this far, but are you confident that your conviction will not waver? The weight of the burden she has to bear is immense. You'll need the resolve to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders if you go with her. Do you have it?"
Determinator: There's a reason the Unicorn submits to him, not the other way around.
Dogged Nice Guy: Seems to be a bit of one towards Audrey.
The Dulcinea Effect: As Audrey, Marida, and Loni can attest, Newtype powers + teenage hormones = enough tilting at windmills to warrant a tip of the hat from Don Quixote himself.
Expy: A rather obvious one of Amuro Ray in so many ways it's not funny:
- Apart from their similar looks, they both pilot white Gundams with similar designs and weaponry, both were Ordinary High School Students who fell inside their Gundam's cockpit, both have green Haros, both develop into powerful Newtypes, and their insignias are practically identical (Amuro at one point had gone by the name White Unicorn).
- They both fall in love with girls who are secret heirs of Zeon leaders.
- Both had Disappeared Dads who designed their signature Gundams and later die.
- They both form rivalries with the "Red Comet" (though in his case it's a clone). Both "Red Comets" pilot red Ace Custom units that are thrice faster than regular units, and upgrade into massive Mobile Armors with hands that are actually wired remote weapons.
- The both meet and form a profound relationship with a mysterious female Newtype piloting a green mobile suit that has funnel weapons who previously had to survive as prostitutes but are now working for the aforementioned Red Comet. Both their deaths kick their Newtype powers to the next level.
- Both their Gundams hold and fire their primary beam rifles in the same way, both single and two-handedly. Both rifles are also pinnacles of their era's technology.
- They are the only two UC protagonists to utilize Funnel weaponry.
- They both use their Newtype abilities to initiate large scale, Axis Shock-like events.
- Both at one point choose to go on living and return to their friends/loved ones rather than dying or ascending to a higher plane of existence ^note
- Captain Bright himself lampshades the fact that Banagher has shades of other Newtypes he has encountered, like Kamille and Judau. Arguably he looks more like Kamille than Amuro.
- Banagher also bears a slight resemblance to Paul Atreides. Son of an important family enveloped in a dark conspiracy and forced to live among an initially hostile group of foreigners after his father's death? Check. Subjected to mental conditioning from birth whose significance he doesn't appreciate until he's a teenager? Check. One of his arch enemies is a fat, corrupt estranged relative? Check. He even looks a bit like a young Kyle MacLachlan.◊
Extreme Doormat: Has very little care for his own well-being, instead devoting himself to helping out a girl he's only just met in any way he can. His old training casts a rather more disturbing light on this.
Fish out of Water/Naïve Newcomer: What he initially seemed to be, until Episode 2 reveals that his origins are anything but ordinary.
Genki Guy: He shows off Haro to Audrey with all the enthusiasm of a little kid.
Banagher: It was the coolest thing ever when we were kids!
Giant Robot Hands Save Lives: Rescues a free-falling Audrey in Episode 5, and ends up at the receiving end of this trope courtesy of Gael's Silver Bullet in Episode 7.
Give Him a Normal Life: Banagher's mother left Cardeas and took him with her because she didn't want him to get caught up in Vist Foundation's shady dealings. Can't really blame her.
Good Wears White: His mobile suit has white armor.
Groin Attack: Gives one to Zinnerman while in the middle of politely calling him out on his ignorance about involving civilians in the war.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: A rare heroic variant, and mostly due to circumstances beyond his control. First, he winds up with the Federation, is then abducted by the Sleeves, rejoins the Federation, learns they aren't exactly the lightest shade of gray so he rejoins the Sleeves, back with the Federation after stopping the Sleeves from slaughtering civilians in the Federation capital, and winds up with a splinter group of the Federation after their higher-ups try to destroy him. Then the Sleeves wind up working with them and staying on their ship because circumstances forced them to, until they finally deem all of the Sleeves, save Marida and Suberoa, terrorists and kick Full Frontal and his forces off of their ship... But not before Full Frontal can offer Banagher the chance to join him, and it looks like he considers too. Wow.
Heroic Bastard: His parents weren't actually married, as evidenced by both his last name and the fact that Alberto ( his half-brother) originally didn't even know about him
Heroic BSoD: He suffers this from time to time:
- After Audrey tells him she doesn't need him.
- Once again upon realizing he inadvertently killed Gilboa.
- And again after failing to save Loni Garvey.
- Then finally has a really painful one after Marida's death.
Heroic Vow/Honor Before Reason: Banagher gave his word to Audrey that he would protect her, and he's sticking to it, no matter what fights he gets plunged into and whether Audrey would like this or not.
Identical Grandson: The young Syam seen in the prologue looks exactly like his great-grandson.
Jumped at the Call: Which only hurt him even more when he got Refused by the Call by his Protectorate.
Light Is Good: Pilots a full-white Gundam, called "Unicorn", whose name is based on a beast of light and possibilities. Notably, he fits this whilst his mobile suit does not. At least until he fully awakened in Episode 7.
Lightning Bruiser: The Unicorn — very fast, well armored, packs a lot of heat for its size, very dangerous in close combat, and that is before it activates its Newtype-Destroyer (NT-D) mode or receives its Mid-Season Upgrade, the Full Armor Unicorn expansion pack.
Living MacGuffin: As pilot of the Unicorn, he's the key to Laplace's Box, and is thus supremely valuable to various factions within the story. Audrey/Mineva is aware of this and tries to convince him to go into hiding at the beginning of Episode 2. After she reveals the final set of coordinates to the box in Episode 6, Full Frontal reveals that he's now willing to kill him, but wants him to join their cause.
Martial Pacifist: There's a reason he is the only person who can pilot the Unicorn effectively. He's born an incredibly powerful Newtype and his training gave him proper combat skills, but it is his resolve and purity of heart that gives him the power to control NT-D and keep himself from committing outright genocide.
Necromancer: As usual for a heroic Newtype, he can communicate with and draw power from the spirits of the dead. Whilst recreating a small-scale version of the Axis Shock in Episode 5, he even gets a bit of help from Amuro himself.
Nerves of Steel: When faced with fighting a man nicknamed The Red Comet, Banagher barely slows down before charging into battle.
Nice Guy: If there's one thing likable about Banagher, he is kind to a fault, friendly, and is willing to talk things through before punching his opponents a new hole. It is for this very reason that he (and Audrey/Mineva) are considered the only ones worthy of revealing the contents of Laplace's Box.
Oblivious to Love: Micott really likes Banagher, but he seems more interested in Audrey.
Ordinary High-School Student: Subverted.
Out-of-Clothes Experience: With Marida in Episode 3, and (supposedly) again with Loni an episode later.
Parental Abandonment: His mother dies prior to the story, and he is estranged from his father, who also bites the dust at the end of Episode 1.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Banagher demonstrates remarkable skill in beating up men four times his size.
Power Incontinence: For guys like Amuro and Kamille, who gained their powers late in life, Newtype connections are rare, precious, and above all voluntary. Banagher collects them like headlice. It has yet to be established how powerful Banagher is, but he's capable of creating Axis Shock-like events, deflecting enormous blasts (with help), remotely shutting down entire squadrons of mobile suits with a hand wave, and completely repair the Unicorn after almost transcending.
- Taken to another level in Gundam Narrative. Analysis of all the shut-down mobile suits from the finale of Unicorn showed that they weren't just shut down - the generators themselves were found to have been dismantled INSIDE the suits themselves. One analyst notes that they looked as if they were taken back to a time when they weren't assembled.
Psychic Powers: He was a very early-onset Newtype, which ended up shaping a great deal of his personality.
The Quiet One: In comparison to his friends. But as seen from his interaction with Audrey, Banagher's actually pretty friendly.
Reckless Pacifist: Though given that his only weapon is an immensely powerful Humongous Mecha with a Superpowered Evil Side, it's not really his fault.
Refused by the Call: In Episode 1...
Banagher: "I don't care who you are! Just say that you need me, and I'll... Just tell me..."
Audrey: "I don't need you. Now, go. The best thing you can do is forget about me."
[Banagher has Heroic BSoD]
- The Call Knows Where You Live: Still winds up as a key factor in the war anyway.
- Resigned to the Call: He's initially rather hesitant and bitter about it all. Though over time, he does wholeheartedly accept the call.
Say My Name
"Audrey!"
Skyward Scream: Calls out his Gundam in Episode 7, with a very loud "UNICOOOOOOOOOORN!!!"
Technical Pacifist: Wouldn't hesitate to rip you a new hole if you decide to harm anyone he cares about. But he will always try to stop short of killing you; while it doesn't always work, he does get better at it over time.
- An excellent example of this is seen in Episode 7, in which Banagher wipes the floor with a company-sized formation of Sleeves mobile suits, disabling them without killing the pilots.
These Hands Have Killed: He does not take the news that he killed a Zeon pilot with a stray shot in one of his first battles well.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: Goes out of his way to avoid killing enemy pilots. It's shown that even with his skills, it doesn't always succeed.
Tyke Bomb: He started manifesting Newtype powers when he was very young, and was consequently being groomed as the Unicorn's pilot, until his mother pulled him out of the Vist Foundation's clutches.
Unicorn: The overall motif of his Gundam.
Unstoppable Rage: After Daguza's death in Episode 3. He ends up getting Gilboa killed in the process.
Wetware CPU: The Unicorn's Destroy Mode turns him into one whenever it activates. He's locked into his pilot seat, unable to move while the combat AI takes over and hijacks his Psychic Powers for itself. However, as the story goes on, he's able to make the Unicorn submit to his will.
What the Hell, Hero?: Banagher delivers this several times, towards Cardeas when Industrial 7 is attacked, towards Audrey when she attempts to get him to escape with her from the Nahael Argama, when she persuades Daguza to shoot her when her identity as Mineva is revealed, to Daguza for involving Audrey in the conflict, and finally to Full Frontal. In fact, Marida speculates that his willingness to question people's motives is the reason he is the most worthy pilot of the Unicorn — the best person to shape the Universal Century is someone who can find creative solutions beyond the ideologies and propaganda of the two warring factions.
(To Daguza): "Well, if we're just children, then why is she your hostage? Is this how adults are supposed to behave? Does being older make this right?!"
Wide-Eyed Idealist: For the Crapsack World that is the Universal Century, it may mean little, but Banagher's optimism is perhaps the only thing keeping his sanity intact. And this time, it actually helps him reshape the Universal Century and finally bring an end to a decades-long conflict.
Wish-Fulfillment: Banagher really, really wants to be needed by the girl he met five minutes ago. And when Audrey does cry for help (via Newtype communication), Banagher proceeds to have the time of his life... all without having to kill anyone.

Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi

Audrey Burne / Mineva Lao Zabi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/audrey_7960.jpg

"I don't have much time! Help me! There's someone I must speak with, but if I don't get there in time, I'm afraid something terrible will happen! We must act immediately! So, please!"

Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)

A mysterious girl involved with the Sleeves, who encounters Banagher while trying to prevent them from starting a war. Accepting his help, the two dodge the Sleeves while trying to contact the mysterious Vist Foundation. Her goal is no more or less than preventing a war from breaking out, by whatever means necessary. In truth, however, she is none other than Mineva Lao Zabi, daughter of Dozle Zabi (third son of Degwin, leader of Zeon) and Princess Zena, having come out of hiding to pursue a way to finally end the decades-long war between Earthlings and Spacenoids.

Adaptation Dye-Job: In Zeta, Mineva had a more reddish◊ hair◊ than her current hair color in Unicorn, which looks more blond or orange-like/brownish blond. It's not certain if it's been intentionally dyed by her of if it may have naturally changed color. Given that her mother was blonde and her father had black hair, it may be that her hair was just naturally pre-disposed to darkening with age.
Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Micott's Betty.
Big Eater: Not nearly as extreme as most normal cases but when this girl tastes something she likes, she really enjoys it.
Birds of a Feather: With Banagher (for their rootless childhoods) and Riddhe (for their political backgrounds).
Defrosting Ice Queen: It's a very, very slow defrosting.
Do Not Adjust Your Set: With help from the dying Syam (and the Unicorn), she broadcasts the contents of Laplace's Box (the original UC charter, along with an extra article omitted from the official Federation version) in the final minutes of Episode 7.
Dramatic Irony: She asserts that if Full Frontal really is Char, then his hatred for the Zabis means he wouldn't hesitate to shoot down the Nahel Argama with her on board if they didn't hand over the Unicorn. Audrey has no way of knowing that the real Char's actual feelings on the matter would have been quite different. While he did despise the Zabis for killing his father, he didn't extend the same enmity for Mineva (who hadn't even been born at the time), and his fury at Haman Karn for installing Mineva as Neo Zeon's puppet leader skewered any alliance negotiations between them and the AEUG back in Zeta.
Expy: Haman Karn left a very big impression on her, given that she seems to have picked up a number of her traits.
Fallen Princess: The last of the Zabi Family who had remained hidden behind the scenes during the two Neo-Zeon Wars.
Give Her a Normal Life: In one of Haman Karn's rare Pet the Dog moments, young Mineva was sent to Earth as an ordinary schoolgirl at the end of the Gryps Conflict, whilst a series of Body Doubles covered for her on Axis. The deception was revealed at the end of the Neo Zeon Wars, but nobody was quite sure what had happened to the real Mineva... until now.^note
Guile Heroine: Audrey easily relies on her wit and persuasion as a means to fulfill her goals. Banagher calls her out on it in Episode 2 twice — when she attempted to get him to escape with her from the Nahael Argama, and then when she is persuading Daguza to shoot her when her identity as Mineva is revealed.
King Incognito: As the last of the Zabis, she has legal rights to take over the mighty Spacenoid empire Zeon Zum Deikun built and which her grandfather Degwin fortified. She, however, refuses to take the opportunity.
Last of Her Kind: She is the last surviving member of the Zabi Family as of the start of the story.
Line-of-Sight Alias: She first introduces herself to Banagher near a movie theater showing a classic (by this point, in fact, it would be close to 200 years old at the least) film starring Audrey Hepburn.
Meaningful Name: Shares many parallels with her namesake. Though she's mostly remembered for her film career, the real Audrey Hepburn also worked for the La Résistance during World War II (despite being the daughter of a genuine Nazi Nobleman) and was an influential and charismatic human rights advocate in her later life.
Meet Cute: She meets Banagher when he saves her life by catching her with a Petit MS.
Mysterious Past: Nobody knew of it, until she is outed to be the last of the family which manipulated its way into the Zeon leadership.
Named After Somebody Famous/Shout-Out: Just look at the name. Lampshaded when Riddhe initially mistakes Audrey for an actress, but he was probably just being friendly.
Nerves of Steel: Not even a gun pointed at her head or having to jump off a plane without a parachute will shake her. In either case she knew she would come to no harm.
Not So Above It All: Initially complains about having having to eat while walking, but as soon as she takes a bite out of a hot dog she starts blushing and smiling. Bande Dessinee makes the scene even◊ cuter◊.
Pretender Diss: Delivers one to Full Frontal in regards to his reputation as the second coming of Char, stating that Char believed in human potential, in contrast to Full Frontal's nihilism.
Protectorate: To Banagher.
Psychic Powers: She is a fairly powerful Newtype. Given how Newtype powers work, it's implied to be one of the reasons why Banagher is so keen on helping her.
Rags to Royalty: Snow White style — Audrey is a princess forced to go into hiding, is aware of her royal lineage, and tried to pretend to be a commoner. Subverted only because she hasn't officially reclaimed her rightful heritage, and given that doing so would not be a good thing, it's rather doubtful that she ever would.
Rebellious Princess: She rejects her family's heritage and escapes the Sleeves to persuade Cardeas Vist not to give them the Box.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: She ultimately gets her chance to shine in the spotlight by donning a Zeon uniform and proclaiming the extra article of Laplace's Box at the end of the series.
She Is All Grown Up: Our sweet little Mineva has even discovered boys.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Constantly zigzags between opening up to Banagher and giving him the cold shoulder.
Tomboy Princess: While feminine and regal, she is also very tough and not overly concerned with manners (see: Big Eater).
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: The Zabi males (with the exception of Garma) were notoriously ugly, her father Dozle actually taking the cake among his generation as a 7'-tall giant with the Face of a Thug. More recent material has clearly shown that she gets her looks from her mom.

Takuya Irei

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Takuya-MSGUC_4638.jpg

"Hey, look up there! It's a Zaku! Damn it, Bancroft! Why didn't you tell us there was something so cool here?"

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Robby Sharpe (English)

Banagher's friend and roommate at Anaheim Electronics Industrial College. He is a big fan of mobile suits.

Beta Couple: With Micott
Foil: To Banagher.
Otaku: A huge Mobile Suit fanboy. Based on his knowledge in the first two episodes, he could probably give most Gundam fans a run for their money.
- Ascended Fanboy: He's actually a very good Mobile Suit mechanic (unsurprising given that he's an engineering student), as he proved while on board the EFSF ship Nahel Argama where he creates a makeshift upgrade for the Unicorn, dubbed the "Full Armor Unicorn" which proves very effective.
Last-Minute Hookup: Him and Micott. She had previously only showed interest in Banagher early on in the OVA series, but when it became clear that he wanted Mineva instead, Micott started spending more time with Takuya and the two bonded during the crises that happened and became a couple.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Despite being a mobile suit otaku, Takuya gets a number of key facts wrong: he wrongly identifies the RX-78-2 Gundam as the Federation's first mobile suit ^note and claims that Zeon called it the White Devil ^note and later calls the Delta-Plus the Hyaku-Shiki^note. Granted it's presented as more tongue-in-cheek, but these mistakes may belie a bit of propaganda on the part of his sources.
Youthful Freckles: Has a pair of three below his eyes, which complements his Otaku personality.

Micott Barsch

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/micott_4734.jpg

"Don't go! You can't leave me here! Please don't leave me! Banagher!"

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (English)

Another friend of Banagher's, Micott has a not-so-secret crush on him. In the light novels, Micott attends a school adjacent of Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, while in the OVAs she attends Anaheim instead.

Beta Couple: She gets togetherwith Takuya in the end.
Clingy Jealous Girl:
- Very much towards Banagher. At one point, she even (albeit accidentally) spied on Banagher and did not like seeing him hang out with Audrey. Though towards the end of the first episode, her "clingy-ness" was more justified because she was suffering through a nervous breakdown.
- In the novels, it is Micott who tips off Daguza that Audrey may be involved with the Sleeves, which leads him to investigate her background and discover Audrey's true identity.
Curtains Match the Window: Dark-brown to Maroon eyes.
Freak Out: Suffers through a nervous breakdown after witnessing all her friends get killed.
Last-Minute Hookup: Her and Takuya. She had previously only showed interest in Banagher early on in the OVA series, but when it became clear that he had feelings for Mineva instead, Micott started spending more time with Takuya and the two bonded during the crises that happened and became a couple.
Spell My Name With An S: Was it "Barsch" or "Bartsch"?
War Is Hell: For the first episodes, she suffered from a nervous breakdown having watched many schoolmates being vaporized right in front of her.

Haro

"Haro!"

Voiced by: Ryō Hirohashi (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)

A spherical green robotic toy that belongs to Banagher.

Legacy Character: Of a particularly meta sort; every UC TV series has had a Haro, but it's never the same Haro. The one Banagher has is explicitly described as a replica model of Amuro's original.
Non-Human Sidekick / Robot Buddy: Was with Banagher in Episode 1, then appears briefly in Micott's arms in Episode 5.

Kai Shiden

Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa (Japanese), Kevin T. Collins (English)

A veteran of the One Year War, Kai was one of the White Base's top pilots, alongside Amuro Ray and Sayla Mass. Since the events of Zeta, he remains a journalist and negotiator who is aware of what is going on behind the scenes. Through Bright Noa, he becomes involved with Laplace's Box.

The Cameo: Appears only on three instances: first was during his communique with the Garencieres crew regarding the Unicorn's transfer to the Garuda, then later to Captain Bright, when he revealed to him about the rebuilt Gryps 2 Laser, and then in a small scene at the end of the said episode when he contacts Beltorchika Irma.
Deadpan Snarker: All the time.
Dwindling Party: Alongside Bright, he's one of the handful of veterans from the White Base still known to be alive.
Enemy Mine: The specific reason Bright sends him to negotiate with Neo-Zeon. Zeon soldiers respect Kai as a legendary (enemy) soldier, by this point he's a renowned journalist famous for being critical of the Federation government, and his absolute hatred of Char, Zeon, and anything with the stench of either on it is well-known. Bright confirms this through dialogue for people who might not have seen the original series. Kai's presence demonstrates that Bright is playing hardball but also negotiating in good faith, because Kai wouldn't deign to talk to Zeon forces at all if it wasn't important. Only Kai Shiden could go to Zeon.
Face of a Thug: Time still hasn't quite removed this.
Mr. Exposition: He's the one who informs Bright in Episode Seven about the refurnished Colony Laser from Zeta, as well as what the Vist Foundation plan to do with it.
Intrepid Reporter: His job, which he's been carrying on since Zeta.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Both his cameo appearances have him in a gray suit with a light blue tie.

Beltorchika Irma

Voiced by: Maria Kawamura (Japanese), Eileen Stevens (English)

A veteran of the Gryps and First Neo Zeon wars, Beltorchika was once Amuro Ray's girlfriend.

The Cameo: Appears twice. Once, in episode 5, when Bright is trying to warn the Garancieres about the Vist Foundations plans to take the Unicorn and Mineva to space aboard a Garuda. The second is a non-speaking cameo in Episode 7, when she's on the phone with Kai Shiden.
Intrepid Reporter: Works with Kai.

Vist Foundation

Cardeas Vist

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cardeas_resize_1162.jpg

"Death should be treated with dignity. We're supposed to respect one another's lives, but once we grow out of childhood, though we know better, we still cause meaningless bloodshed."

Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Steve Mann (English)

Chairman of Anaheim Electronics Industrial College and head of Vist Foundation. Cardeas is the man who spearheaded the development of the RX-0 Unicorn. Dies in the first episode, after being shot by Alberto.

The Atoner: If his conversations with his grandfather Syam Vist are any indication, they both carry the weight of having to correct the various conflicts and tragedies that the Universal Century has wrought upon Earth and the known galaxy.
Cain and Abel: The Abel to Martha's Cain.
Former Teen Rebel/Retired Badass: It's revealed in the novel that he ran off to become a rather brash Federation pilot. Even as an old man, he still retains elements of this. Ironically, this trope is also the reason why Syam Vist picked him as his direct heir, as he was thus in a sense "free" from the family's hubris.
Luke, I Am Your Father: He's Banagher's father.
Narrator All Along: Like his grandfather Syam, he is eventually revealed to be the one narrating the pre-Episode 7 recap Cien años de soledad... while dead and as a Newtype ghost in space.
Only Sane Man: To the rest of the Vist Foundation, Syam Vist notwithstanding.
Posthumous Character: Not that it stops him from saving the day one last time. By guiding Banagher back to Mineva.
Reasonable Authority Figure: As head of the Vist Foundation, he tries to be one whenever he can, though circumstances force him to do more questionable deeds. Unfortunately, he's killed by the end of the first episode.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed off in the very first episode.

Syam Vist

"Those who can correct the flaws of the Universal Century are beginning to emerge."

Voiced by: Ichirō Nagai (Japanese), Troy Baker [OVA] / Paul St. Peter^note [Re:0096] (English)

Suzerain of the Vist Foundation, grandfather of Cardeas, who has been alive since UC 0001. He is also the man who discovered Laplace's Box back when he was a right-wing terrorist. He knows where it is, and hopes the Box will be passed on, partly as his penance for his part at the bombing of Laplace Station which further precipitated earthling-spacenoid distrust that would haunt the entire century.

The Atoner: His wish to have Laplace's Box passed on seems to stem from guilt over causing the whole mess that is the current Universal Century when he blew up Laplace back in UC 0001, and is trying to set things right.
Big Sleep / Peaceful in Death: Implied as what he did after his life support system shuts down while Mineva is broadcasting the contents of Laplace's Box - after a century of waiting.
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Modelled after Sir Laurence Olivier in the original Clash of the Titans.
Dark and Troubled Past: His involvement in the history of the Universal Century is strongly hinted as a shady, unpleasant one.
Driven to Villainy: Used to work as a terrorist mercenary until the destruction of Laplace. The novels suggest he chose the job precisely because his family was among the impoverished citizens of the Federation sent to space as a means of reducing the Earth's population. Ironically, his desire for building up Laplace's Box and Anaheim Electronics was his hope for building a better life for his original family. Then he realized the larger-than-life dangers this will bring them (not to mention the Vist family he established was a Big, Screwed-Up Family as it is) forced him to sever links with them forever.
Face Death with Dignity: His calm demeanor in Episode 7 suggest this as he informs Mineva and Banagher how he won't stop them from killing him on the spot upon learning the truth of Laplace's Box, if they so desire. Averted, however in that they don't kill him.
Good Wears White: he is a good guy and ally dressed in white.
Grandpa God: He looks the part, being a bearded old man in white robes.
Identical Grandson: Literally, as Banagher, his great-grandson, is the spitting image of what he looks like in youth.
Incoming Ham: It seems behind his shady past and his now-authoritative mien, Syam is also a bit of a showman, considering how the entire room inside Magallanica housing Laplace's Box is filled by CGI technology which allows Banagher and Mineva to witness firsthand how the UC Charter Monument was made.
I Was Quite a Looker: Perfectly resembles Banagher in his youth.
Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: He calmly tells Banagher and Mineva in Episode 7 after they find Laplace's Box that he won't stop them from killing him if they choose to. They don't.
Light Is Good: By the time the OVA takes place, definitely. Not so much in his past though.
Narrator All Along: The opening narrations of the earlier shows are retroactively revealed to be excerpts of a history of the Universal Century he's compiling.
- Ichiro Nagai was selected because he narrated the original series.
Nightmare Sequence: He has one involving Operation British.
Offingthe Offspring: Syam's son, Juste Vist, wanted to open up Laplace's Box earlier than intended, so that the Universal Century could heal faster. The family was divided on this, with Syam's grandson Cardeas taking his side, his granddaughter Martha protecting the investments of Anaheim Electronics, and Juste Vist very close to opening Laplace's Box. Eventually, Syam felt Juste needed to be stopped and had him killed on his orders. Martha was horrified by the death of her father, and swore to get Laplace's Box into Anaheim Electronic's hands just to spite Syam. This explanation was absent from the OVA adaption, with the only thing being revealed is that Syam had his son killed.
Omniscient Morality License: Noted right at the beginning. If things hadn't worked out exactly as he had hoped, his actions might have plunged the world even deeper into darkness.
No Full Name Given: Before he became Syam Vist, he was a Hired Gun known only as Syam. It's unknown what his original surname was and given what the Vist family turned into, he made sure it stays that way, to protect his original family from that life.
Retired Monster: In addition to being at least partially responsible for setting up the deep hole that's Laplace's Box, he has also done some unsavory things in his long life, such as killing his son Juste Vist. Syam's son Juste wanted to open up Laplace's Box earlier than intended, so that the Universal Century could heal faster. This would have ruined Syam's plan of blackmailing of the Earth Federation to build up the Vist Foundation and Anaheim Electronics, so Syam had him killed. On the other hand, he clearly seeks to atone for all of them.
Shipper on Deck: Charmingly, he expresses approval at Banagher's yet-to-be officialized relationship with Mineva. Even Mineva was taken aback by this.
Sole Survivor: Of the terrorist team that blew up the Laplace.
That Man Is Dead: The young Syam died with Laplace. In his place was the man who would be known as Syam Vist.

Gael Chan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/msguc_gael_3587.png

Voiced by: Yutaka Aoyama (Japanese), Jamieson Price^note (English)

Main mecha: ARX-014 Silver Bullet

Secretary and bodyguard of Cardeas Vist, as well as head of the UC Project's security. Formerly an Earth Federation Forces soldier and an underground operative, he is an avowed loyalist to both Cardeas and Syam. And by that logic, to Banagher as well.

Demoted to Extra: In the novels he had a bigger role, being aboard the Nahel Argama.
Detachment Combat: The Silver Bullet's arms can be fired off and are wire-guided, enabling him to engage enemies at a distance with beam sabers. It's a carryover from the Doven Wolf, which the Silver Bullet is based on.
The Dragon: To Cardeas. And eventually, to Syam.
Expy: He shares similarities with Norris Packard in that he's a loyal retainer who will do his duty even at the expense of his own life. Unlike Norris though, he survives towards the very end.
Mr. Exposition: Following Cardeas' death, he becomes Syam Vist's main link to the outside world.
Giant Robot Hands Save Lives: Saves Banagher from being flung about in the vacuum created inside Magallanica in Episode 7.
Old Retainer: Already seen beside Cardeas, and stays in service of the Vist Foundation up until the end of the story.
You Shall Not Pass!: Held off most of the invading EFSF forces chasing Cardeas in Episode 1, and repeats the same against the massive Neo Zeong with his Silver Bullet to buy Banagher some time to get to the Unicorn.

Earth Federation

Riddhe Marcenas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riddhe_145.jpg

"You are still a member of Zeon. Even if there have been background dealings, you're an enemy here. Your people killed Commander Norm and the others, and that is something I won't be able to forgive."

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Yuri Lowenthal (English)

Main mecha: RGZ-95 ReZEL, MSN-001A1 Delta Plus, RX-0(N) Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee Norn

An MS pilot for the EFSF who rescues Audrey, Takuya and Micott from an attack on Industrial 7. He wears a pendant around his wrist and considers it his "good luck charm". Riddhe joined the Federation to get away from his family's political life, being the son of Ronan, chairman of the Council on Colony Relations, and descendant of Ricardo, the first prime minister of of the Earth Federation. He pilots the RGZ-95 ReZEL, the MSN-001A1 Delta Plus and eventually RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Unit 02 "Banshee", all transforming mobile suits.

An Arm and a Leg: His suits all lose their right legs. He also fires the Beam Magnum with the Delta Plus and the kickback breaks the MS's right arm, rendering it useless in the successive fight.
Animal Motifs: Following the series' central theme of "The Lady and the Unicorn", Riddhe's role is that of the "Lion" to Mineva/Audrey's "Lady" and Banagher's "Unicorn", having acquired the leonine Unicorn "Banshee".
Antagonist in Mourning: At least for the duration of his heel role in episode 7, right after killing off Marida.
Birds of a Feather: With Audrey, when they both discuss their mutual political families and the responsibilities that stemmed from it.
Dark Is Evil: After some hefty Sanity Slippage, decides to pilot the monstrous black Unicorn Banshee for the Vist Foundation.
Dark Is Not Evil: All his mobile suits (prior to piloting the Banshee) have dark shades of color. The same can be said of the latter after his Heel–Face Turn.
Deuteragonist: He is the story's other protagonist besides Banagher.
Fallen Hero: Luckily, he gets better when Marida sacrifices herself to snap him out of it.
The Fatalist: Doesn't believe the problems with the Earth Federation can be fixed, so he just wants to keep things as they are rather than let them get any worse.
Heir to the Dojo: Of the political kind, given how influential the Marcenas family is.
Heroic BSoD: Enters into this state after experiencing Mind Rape following his killing of Marida.
Irony: He hates Gundams as agents of uncontrolled and often destructive change, but eventually decides to pilot one himself because of its inarguable power. In addition he also has the same reservations about Newtypes when it comes to humans being agents of change, but as Banagher points out, he himself is a Newtype.
I Just Want to Be Normal: Inverted. He joined the E.F.S.F. to escape the constraints of his political family.
It's All Junk: Discards his good luck charm at the end of episode 5.
The Lancer: Of sorts to Banagher in Episodes 2, 3 and 4, until his eventual Face–Heel Turn in Episode 6.
Lightning Bruiser: All the mobile suits he pilots are both fast & powerful. This especially applies to the Banshee.
Madness Mantra: After bailing out of his already-busted Delta Plus in Episode 5, he starts cursing the Gundams while firing his sidearm at the Banshee, repeating the word "Gundam" until he ran out of ammo and collapsed out of exhaustion.
Memento MacGuffin: His "good luck charm." It may have something to do with his family because Audrey seemed to recognize it.
My God, What Have I Done?: Says the latter part ad verbatim a few seconds after killing off the Kshatriya with the Banshee's Beam Magnum.
Psychic Powers: Riddhe is a low-level Newtype (akin to Char) seeing as he cannot feel empathy the same way that Banagher does. The only time his Newtype powers are given any treatment (prior to his piloting Banshee) is when Riddhe manages to sense Banagher on the battlefield in Episode 2.
- Once he gets the Banshee though, his Newtype powers seem to have increased, although he's still nowhere near as powerful as Banagher.
Running Gag: All of the mobile suits he used lost their respective right legs: his ReZel, via a shot from the Sinanju in Episode 2; his Delta Plus, via the Banshee's left foot in Episode 5; and the aforementioned Banshee (in its Norn configuration), via a couple of the Kshatriya Repaired's funnel missiles in Episode 7,
Sanity Slippage: Courtesy of his jealousy towards Banagher, his rejection by Audrey, and the stress caused by being The Fatalist whilst stuck with the regular Newtype Dulcinea Effect.
Say My Name:
BANAGHER!
Shadow Archetype: To Banagher, when he pilots The Banshee.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Riddhe combines aspects from all three of Char's personas having difficulty with empathy, being The Rival to The Hero, and being a descendant from a place of political power. His Sanity Slippage and obsession leans him towards the Char's Counterattack version whilst his heroic acts and prominence as the deuteragonist and lancer recall Quattro. Riddhe even uses the Delta Plus, a model built from the Delta Gundam which was also built into Quattro's Hyaku Shiki (which it shares a resemblance with).
The Rival: To Banagher.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's revealed in Mobile Suit Gundam UC: Return of the Lion that after the Laplace Incident and entrusting to Banagher the secret of the Banshee's whereabouts, he resigned from the EFSF. With his father's help, he reemerged as "Marcenas Jr." in the public eye to pursue a career in politics, just like his esteemed ancestor.
Yandere: Not exactly a full-on one, but having his hand rejected by Audrey in Episode 5, and the subsequent events involving him in episodes 6 and 7 may have subjected him to slip into the deep end of insanity. As evidenced with this line before firing the Banshee's Beam Magnum at the Kshatriya:
Mineva... You're on their side? I asked you not to leave me; how could you do this?!

Otto Midas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ottomitas_3261.jpg

"That's the last time you'll speak to me like that!"

Voiced by: Naoya Uchida (Japanese), Michael Sorich (English)

Captain of the Nahel Argama, Otto has a short temper and tends toward indecision. Implied to be a rather inexperienced in an actual shipborne command, having been assigned there from an administrative post. Is often offered "suggestions" by his executive officer, Liam Borrinea.

Armchair Military: Used to be a desk officer who was thrown into active combat. A rare positive example of this trope, as he's not particularly incompetent or bloodthirsty, instead tends towards indecisiveness and outbursts of frustration towards situations out of his control. He is still feels great responsibility towards his men and his mission.
The Captain: Of the Nahel Argama.
Curtains Match the Window: Mousy-brown hair and eyes.
A Father to His Men: In a refreshing aversion of the usual portrayals of REMFs suddenly thrust into combat.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Very much so. He frequently butts heads with Cardeas Vist, went ballistic inside an elevator after a briefing, spat out his tea in disgust after receiving an order to assist the enemy, and finally he lashes on Angelo ''at gunpoint''.
It Has Been an Honor: His concluding statement during his Rousing Speech in Episode 6 (emphasis supplied):
As a soldier, and as a man, I look forward to seeing you fight bravely...
Modern Major General: Subverted late in Episode 3 — his XO looks dumbfounded.
Properly Paranoid: While Borrinea feels that they're too far into Federation space for a large scale Sleeves attack in Episode 3 Otto feels that a small scale attack from them was still possible. Otto ultimately turns out to be right when Gilboa and Frontal's teams attack them while they were investigating the Lapalce wreckage.
Rousing Speech: Gives one to the crew of the Nahel Argama at the closing minutes of Episode 6, en route back to Industrial 7. (See the quotes page for the full transcript.)
Spell My Name With An S: Was it "Midas" or "Mitas"?
Spit Take: Has a pretty spectacular one in episode 5 involving tea in zero gravity.

Daguza Mackle

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daguza_8260.jpg

"Even a cog in a machine has its pride. Now, you go and play your own part, it's the one place where you can decide for yourself who you are, don't ever lose it."

Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi (Japanese), Richard Epcar (English)

Main mecha: RGM-89De Jegan (ECOAS Type)

A Commander in the ECOAS 920 special operations group. Is highly experienced in fighting against Zeon and does not hesitate to use underhanded tactics in order to accomplish his mission, which at this point in time is preventing the opening of Laplace's Box.

Badass Normal: He fights mobile suits generally without one of his own.
Colonel Badass: Has the balls to leave a mobile suit cockpit and fire a handheld bazooka at an enemy suit. Pulled it off twice against the Kshatriya and Sinanju on separate occasions. Sadly did not come out alive on the latter encounter.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Fights Full Frontal in his Sinanju without using a mobile suit, just some planted explosives and a bazooka.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Quite the stern soldier, but has deeper understandings about the horrors of war, as evident during his last deep talk with Banagher inside the Unicorn's cockpit.
Machine Blood: When he is killed by the Sinanju's beam saber, all that remains is his bazooka, which then melts and splatters on a wall like a bloodstain.
Necessarily Evil: His perspectives and methods, as morally reprehensible they may be, are considered necessary in his line of work. Otto doesn't even like him or ECOAS in general but tells Banagher that he shouldn't be so hard on the man.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: While Daguza understands that child death can and will happen in war he does try and avoid it. He takes Mineva hostage and threatens to shoot her to get Full Frontal to back off. Frontal doesn't and ultimately Daguza can't bring himself to go through with it.

Conroy Haagensen

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

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Marc Thompson (English)

Main mecha: RGM-89De Jegan (ECOAS Type)

Second in command of the ECOAS 920 special forces team; Daguza's right-hand man.

Ace Custom: He pilots a custom modified Jegan equipped with a special sniper visor, beam pistol, and chemical grenades.
Big Damn Heroes: He pulls this off in episode 6 with his fellow ECOAS soldiers, to assist the crew of the Nahel Argama in driving the Sleeves out of the ship.
Large and in Charge: He's got a large build, and he leads ECOAS after Daguza's death in Episode 4.
Number Two: He serves as Daguza's second-in-command, and he takes over the latter's role after his death.
Stout Strength: He's somewhat bulkier than his direct superior, but can still hold his own in battle. He's not an ECOAS operative for nothing.
Weak, but Skilled: Despite being an Oldtype, Conroy destroys numerous Neo Zeon suits in several battles, and perhaps most impressively, survives the war in a series known for being unforgiving to supporting pilots.

Mihiro Oiwaken

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mihiro_1975.jpg

Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

Communications officer of the Nahel Argama, she seems to have a thing for Riddhe, but he's pretty oblivious about it.

Bridge Bunnies: As the comms officer she'd usually seen there managing the MS teams and intership communications.
Curtains Match the Window: Brown Hair and Eyes.
Fantastic Racist: Demands that Dr Hasan put Marida in a straitjacket because she's a Cyber Newtype and could go crazy. When called out by Banagher for her inhumanity, she defends herself by essentially claiming that as a Sleeve she deserves no mercy.
Genki Girl: According to her official profile, Mihiro has a "cheerful personality."
Mission Control: Serves as a communications officer aboard the Nahel Argama
Mythology Gag: Her demand for Dr Hasan to put Marida in a straitjacket after the latter is captured is a reference to Allelujah Haptism from Mobile Suit Gundam 00, where he is put in a straitjacket when the Federation captures him after they healed him due being as dangerous criminals.
Nice Girl: She was the one who remembered that there were teenage refugees on the ship and brought them normal suits when combat broke out.
Spell My Name With An S: Does her surname have two "k"'s or one?

Liam Borrinea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/liam_7.png

Voiced by: Misa Watanabe (Japanese), Cindy Robinson (English)

A rather experienced middle aged woman and the Nahel Argama's executive officer, frequently offers "suggestions" to acting captain Otto Mitas, often with some well hidden snark attached.

Hypercompetent Sidekick: You gotta be, when this is your CO's first ever command.
Number Two: The Nahael Argama's executive officer. In reality, she's the de facto captain, as she's often giving "advice" to her less experienced superior.
Servile Snarker: Sort of, given that her job is essentially to act as an instructor to Midas, who at this point has had no experience commanding a ship.

Hasan

Voiced by: Masaharu Sato (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

A veteran doctor who served aboard the original Argama during the Gryps War, and has been with the Nahel Argama since the First Neo-Zeon War.

The Bus Came Back: He was last seen in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam serving aboard the Argama. Hasan returns in Unicorn crewing the Nahel Argama.
The Medic: The AEUG's main doctor during the Gryps Conflict, Hasan remained with the group when they formed Londo Bell. In story he treats the injured Banagher when he's first taken onto the Nahel Argama and has his hands full as the injuries mount.

Ronan Marcenas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ronan_5.png

Voiced by: Shinji Ogawa (Japanese), Dave B. Mitchell (English)

Riddhe's father, and a member of the Earth Federation's Central Assembly. He serves as chairman of the Settlement Issues Council, which is jokingly referred to as the shadow cabinet.

My God, What Have I Done?: When he authorizes the firing of the Colony Laser at Industrial 7 only for a distraught Alberto to reveal that Riddhe is the one piloting the Banshee. He spends the rest of Gryps 2's start up sequence despondent only to snap out of it in the last ten seconds of the countdown and, in horrified anguish, choke out the first syllable of Riddhe's name before the laser fires.
Uncanny Family Resemblance: Essentially looks like his ancestor, Ricardo Marcenas, with lighter hair.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: He initially comes across as this, given his rather frayed relationship with Riddhe.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Like his ancestor, he tries to do what he sees as for the best of the Federation and mankind. The difference lies in the depths and extremes he's also willing to go to preserve his family's prestige (and power) in the process.

Ricardo Marcenas

Voiced by: Kinryū Arimoto (Japanese), Robert Gorman (English)

The first prime minister of the Earth Federation, who was killed in the act of terrorism known as the Laplace Incident. He is an ancestor of Riddhe Marcenas.

The Atoner: Episode 7 implies that he added the infamous extra Article to what became Laplace's Box out of remorse for whatever damage humanity's mass emigration to space has wrought.
But Not Too Foreign: His pre-recorded speech reveals that, while born to diplomatic figures in the former United States, he's of mixed heritage spanning different parts of the world. Combined with his upbringing and travels, this helped guarantee his rise in what became the Earth Federation. As well as representative in a sense of the unifying, prosperous future the Universal Century promised.
Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair, brown eyes.
Posthumous Character: He has made a pre-recorded speech prior to the Laplace Station incident, which was played in full in episode 3 during the Unicorn's sortie into the station's ruins.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to his successors and descendants at least.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: He was a Wide-Eyed Idealist and a Reasonable Authority Figure who wanted all of mankind to experience prosperity, happiness, and peace. Too bad he ends up dying in the Laplace Incident.
Uncanny Family Resemblance: His descendant essentially looks just like him, albeit with lighter hair.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: He seemed to have had shades of this, given that he was a major figure in both forging the Earth Federation and drafting what would come to be known as Laplace's Box.
We Hardly Knew Ye: The very first named character to be offed in Unicorn: as one of the casualties of the Laplace Station incident.

Bright Noa

Captain Bright Noa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bright-UC_338.jpg

Voiced by: Ken Narita (Japanese), Christopher Corey Smith (English)

Commander of Londo Bell, the Earth Federation's auxiliary unit. Ever since the One Year War, he earned fame for commanding Newtypes, for which Federation removed him from the military mainstream. As captain of the Londo Bell flagship Ra Cailum, he becomes involved in the events surrounding Laplace's Box.

Big Good: In a Federation army where most of the influential figures are self-serving and corrupt, Bright is a man of consistent integrity and honor, earning him the unwavering respect and loyalty of the soldiers of Londo Bell. His years of experience with Newtypes have given him a deep understanding of their emotional needs, which he uses to help point Benagher in the right direction.
The Captain: He's not called "The Eternal Captain" for nothing.
A Father to His Men: It's Bright freakin' Noa, what did you expect? In return his crew are nothing but fiercely loyal to him.
Four-Star Badass: Functionally — he's the commander of Londo Bell, the Federation's elite Zeon-hunters.
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Averted in this series, reflecting his Character Development. He gets Banagher into the saddle with words alone when the time comes.
Talking to the Dead: With Amuro.
Reasonable Authority Figure: When he meets Banagher in Episode 5, he even encourages the boy to do something extraordinary with the Unicorn — having come to believe that certain people become Gundam pilots for a reason, he also encourages him to find his purpose for living.
- When Riddhe asks him not to give him any special treatment due to his family connections, Bright responds by telling that Riddhe is giving himself special treatment by assuming he would receive it ahead of other pilots. Bright then gives him a short but stern talking to that he chooses pilots based on merit, and he expects Riddhe to perform to the best of his abilities.
Reassigned to Antarctica: Federation higher-ups consider him dangerous, having commanded three generations of Newtype pilots, so they relegate him and Londo Bell to auxiliaries. Fortunately Bright and company have a habit of getting themselves into trouble where they're needed most.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: This is why he and Londo Bell decide to go openly against the Vist Foundation over Laplace's Box.
- In Episode 7, this results in Bright dropping in on the Cheyenne Mountain complex to try and stop Grypps 2 from firing, culminating in him telling Ronan Marcenas that if he fires the Colony Laser, Bright will become an enemy to the Federation.
Skintone Sclerae: His sclerae have a slight skintone tint to them as a reference to the original series.
Undying Loyalty: Inspires this in his crew. His pilots and mechanics physically block the Vist Foundation's Men in Black so he can have a private conversation with Banagher.
Watts: (To the Vist Foundation security personnel) What's the matter with you boys? That man is the Captain of this ship.

Meran

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese), Marc Diraison (English)

The second in command of the Londo Bell flagship Ra Cailum. He holds the rank of Commander. Since the second Neo Zeon War, he has continued to calmly support Bright as his right-hand man.

The Bus Came Back: Returns from Char's Counterattack still as the 2nd in command of the Ra Cailum.
The Confidant: When Bright makes deals and communications outside of the command structure, Meran is the one who aides him and is privy to knowledge hidden from most of the crew.

Tri-Stars Team

The Tri-Stars Team

Nigel

Daryl

Watts

Nigel Garett voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Matthew Mercer (English)

Daryl McGuinness' voiced by: Anri Katsu (Japanese), Spike Spencer (English)

Watts Stepney voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)

A trio of Ace Pilots stationed aboard Londo Bell's flagship Ra Cailum. They serve as one of the forces' spearheads in an operation, piloting RGM-96X Jestas.

Ace Custom: The RGM-96X Jesta, a special operations version of the Jegan.^note
Ace Pilot: All three of them, but moreso Nigel who serves as the team leader
The Big Guy: Watts
Butt-Monkey: Watts. First, his Jesta gets booted out of its Base Jabber by the Unicorn in Episode 5, then he nearly gets taken out by an exploding Garencieres in Episode 6, after firing a few warning shots in front of its bow.
Dynamic Entry: In Episode 7, when they led the invasion of the Cheyenne Base, Watts dropped on a Zeta Plus right before it got a chance to escape.
Expy: Technically the Earth Federation's answer to the Black Tri-Stars team from the original series: a trio of pilots using Ace Custom suits with a similar dark color scheme as the Doms.
The Lancer / The Smart Guy Daryl
The Leader: Nigel
Mid-Season Upgrade: Surprisingly, only Watts gets his Jesta upgraded into the Jesta Cannon in Episode 6.
Storming the Castle: What they pulled off midway in Episode 7, on orders from Captain Bright, stealthily disabling the stationed Gustav Karls around the facility. Well, save for an unlucky Zeta Plus.

Robin Diez

Main mecha: RX-160S Byarlant Custom

A pilot stationed at Torrington Base, he uses the RX-160S Byarlant Custom.

Ace Pilot: His performance at Torrington alone marks him as an Ace, but judging from his skills (and data files), he was an exceptional pilot even before being transferred there.
Ace Custom: The Byarlant Custom is basically the original Byarlant, but strapped with even more thrusters.
All There in the Manual: His name.
Badass Normal: No Newtype powers, no cutting edge Super Prototype, still kills Zeeks like flies.
Big Damn Heroes: Turns the tide of the fight at Torrington before the Tri-Stars even got there.
Death from Above: His one advantage against the invasion force at Torrington is that his Byarlant Custom has integrated flight systems (and not needing a separate mobile armor/Base Jabber to fly). He uses this added maneuverability to great effect against the Zeon forces.
Defector from Decadence: Was once a Titans pilot, now fighting with Bright and Londo Bell.
Hidden Badass: Most people at Torrington, including the commander, only knew him as a mechanic.
Lightning Bruiser: As mentioned above, the Byarlant is essentially a bunch of thrusters strapped to a mobile suit, to the point where it can't even carry mass-produced armaments. The result is a really fast sucker, to the point that other suits can barely get a bead on it, much less hit it.
One-Man Army: He's on screen for about a minute and a half. In that time he wastes ten enemy suits, including several Geara Zulus and a couple suits outdated by no more than 4-5 years, by himself and without backup, in a mobile suit model that is about 8 years old. The most damage he ever takes is his having the weapon system on his left arm, but not the arm itself, disabled, and taking a shot to the back which neither kills nor stops him. Both happened right at the very end of his last scene.
- One should also note that the enemy suits had just easily massacred the base's defensive forces, and he was being fired upon while he was getting into his suit. He still cuts through his foes like a hot knife through butter.
- In the next episode, he tries repeatedly to interfere in the Unicorn vs Banshee fight. He gets knocked around badly, but survives despite being hopelessly outclassed by both sides.

Amuro Ray

Voiced by: Tōru Furuya (Japanese)

The original Gundam pilot, hero of the One Year War and the Second Neo Zeon Conflict. Sacrificed his own life to save the Earth from the asteroid Axis three years ago, but that doesn't stop him from coming back to lend Banagher a helping hand at a critical moment.

Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: His spirit appears briefly in Episode 7 to have a brief conversation with Char and Lalah.
Posthumous Character: Not that it stops him from saving the day one last time.
Talking to the Dead: Bright does this with a picture of him in his office. Apparently he was listening.

Neo Zeon Remnants / "The Sleeves"

Full Frontal

Main mecha: MSN-06S Sinanju, NZ-999 Neo Zeong

"You mustn't let mistakes weigh you down. Acknowledge them and take what you've learned to move on. That is the privilege of being an adult."

Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)

The leader of the Neo-Zeon remnants who bears a striking resemblance to the late Char Aznable.

Ace Pilot: In addition to his appearance and mannerisms, he also flies like his predecessor Char. In his opening battle he openly shreds the Nahel Argama's mobile suit screen and trashes its anti-air defenses while the other three mobile suits in his unit just sit back and watch. The Federation troops don't even manage to hit him until they deploy the Unicorn Gundam.
Alliterative Name: Both words in his name starts with F.
All There in the Manual: The anime never details how he came into existence.
Big Bad Ensemble: Alongside Martha Vist Carbine.
Bling of War: Not only does he wear a fancy, gold-trimmed officer's coat, his Sinanju follows suit. The real Char may have had a taste for flamboyant paintjobs, but even he never went so far as to pilot a war machine covered in gold leaf designs (Hyaku Shiki notwithstanding).
Blue-and-Orange Morality: He doesn't even think of himself as a human being anymore (which may even be true, given the extent of the Artificial Newtype tinkering done to him), but rather a vessel for the ideals of Zeon, therefore he has no sense of right or wrong, only what furthers his mission.
Call-Back: Frontal's first appearance in the OVA is replete with them, with Frontal repeating or otherwise referencing popular Char quotes, such as:
- 'You mustn't let mistakes weigh you down. Acknowledge them and take what you've learned to move on. That is the privilege of being an adult.' (One does not care to acknowledge the mistakes of one's youth)
- 'Let's test the performance of your new Gundam' (Let's test the performance of the Federation's new mobile suit)
- In addition, Frontal, like Char in the original series, never seems to wear a normal suit, perhaps for the same reasons as Char (Char expects to keep any mobile suit he uses intact) or perhaps for more nihilistic reasons (Frontal has fallen into despair from Axis Shock and therefore courts death).
- (Referencing Banagher's Beam Magnum) 'It doesn't matter how powerful they are if they can't hit me'(The same, in reference to Amuro's Beam Rifle)
Combat Pragmatist: Part of Full's superior skill is the willingness to use his advantages. He'll target mobile suits just as they take off, ambush and aim for cockpits, snipe far away targets for as long as possible, pin targets using his beam rifle allowing him to close in and attack, use mobile suits as shields, and get himself a massive mobile armor that can cause the ammo in other mobile suits to detonate, if not just take them over outright.
Cultured Badass: While holding Banagher captive, he offers him tea, has no qualms with answering Banagher's questions, and treats him with the utmost of courtesy.
Cyber Cyclops: As is fitting for a Zeon commander. His main suit, the Sinanju, is a mono-eye. That said the original Sinanju had two eyes and when Full Frontal's suit's face is hit with a bazooka shot, one of its original eyes glows beneath its cracked faceplate. The Geara Doga Ace Custom that he uses in the prequel manga is a straight eample.
Dark Messiah: As a clone, he carries Char's Well-Intentioned Extremist aspect from Char's Counterattack, but without the despair issues and coupled with the mantra of being "the vessel for the collective will of all spacenoids".
Fake–Real Turn: He's almost completely devoid of a sense of self and sees Neo-Zeon's mission as the end-all, be-all of his entire existence because the mad scientists who created him deliberately engineered his brain that way in an attempt to create a clone of Char. While the real Char was a selfish, jaded, neurotic wreck who only exploited Neo-Zeon's ideology for the sake of his own petty personal vendettas, Frontal was created in the false image of the Char that his followers believed in. On the other hand, he's certainly no less crazy than the real one.
- Of course, there's the possibility that Frontal acts the way he does because A) Amuro's dead and Frontal therefore has nothing to seek a vendetta against and B) Axis Shock has caused Frontal's descent into despair, therefore, to Frontal, his mission is the be-all, end-all of his existence. Frontal even claimed to have descended into madness and come out on the other side.
  - Episode 7 shows pretty clearly that he's just as nihilistic as the real Char. The difference is that while Char channeled his bitterness into his vendetta with Amuro, Frontal has no real desires or personality beyond his mission to resurrect Zeon. Instead, he practices the worst kind of Realpolitik, following in the bloody footsteps of Gihren Zabi and his kind because he believes totalitarianism is the only thing that can keep humanity in line in a godless universe.
  - Ultimately Subverted. While Full Frontal looks like Char, in essence, he is nothing like him. See Not So Similar.
Irony: The real Char had no interest in being a "vessel" for the ideals of Zeon, only making people think he did. What makes Full Frontal really dangerous is that he does, or at least thinks he does, as Frontal does not speak for everyone living in space.
- Further irony in the fact that while Frontal claims to act for the ideals of Zeon Deikun, he has only perverted them to the point that he is doing the exact opposite of what Zeon proscribed.
Knight Templar: Full Frontal has a vision for the future: a Side Co-Prosperity Sphere between the Colonies and the Moon. He rationalizes that the Spacenoids produce the lion's share of industry and food and the Earth relies too much on them. With this Prosperity Sphere they can cut out the Earth entirely and leave it to die while the Spacenoids live free and govern themselves. That said, Full Frontal himself may not even believe in this and is simply parroting what was programmed into his mind.
Lightning Bruiser: The Sinanju is a scaled-down version of the Sazabi with most of its thick armor and fancy gimmicks cut out for better mobility and endurance. It may not seem like much with the Attack Drone set and Wave-Motion Gun gone, reducing it to a fairly basic set of armaments, but the truth is that something that moves like that doesn't really need them.
Meaningful Name: May refer to "full frontal assault", but also Char's alias in Zeta Gundam.
- May also be a reference to a type of lobotomy, given his origins (at least in the novel version).
Meta Mecha: His Sinanju is actually the core of the NZ-999 Neo Zeong, the anime-exclusive mobile armor that he pilots (from inside the former) in Episode 7.
Mysterious Past: There's absolutely nothing known about the person who he was before being programmed into a copy of Char. Since Zoltan Akkanen, the antagonist of Gundam Narrative, came from the same experiments as him, it's possible that their backgrounds may have been similar.
Not So Similar: Full Frontal looks like Char, talks like Char, sounds like Char, replaced Char's role as leader of Zeon, espouses the same ideas as Char, and some (maybe even Full Frontal himself) believe him to BE Char. However, as Mineva points out, Char's dead. Char was a semi-insane idealist who hated being a political figure, who'd rather drop an entire friggin asteroid onto earth than deal with petty poilitics. Contrast with Full Frontal, a cold, passionless clone who barely sees himself as a person instead rather a gestalt of the will of spacenoids, whose grand plan is cold reactionary realpolitik.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: The primary motif of his mobile suits, from the customized Geara Doga and ReBawoo he used before, up to his signature ones such as the Sinanju and the Neo Zeong.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: His mask has red eyes, and the Sinanju also shows a red eye when its face is half destroyed
Shoot the Hostage: Not even Princess Mineva's life is worth giving in to the Federation's demands to him.
Slasher Smile: Cracks a small one before firing on the General Revil.
Straw Nihilist: Is revealed to be this at the end. He takes Banagher to the end of time itself, and explains that nothing anyone does matters in the long run, and that hope and possibility are meaningless because it will all inevitably end up in the dark, lifeless void that is the end.
The Stoic: Underneath his Affably Evil persona, there is just a complete and utter lack of real human emotion in him. Best exemplified in the final battle against Banagher and Riddhe where he doesn't started shouting and ranting with passion about the justness of his cause like previous Gundam Big Bads but instead just calmly repeats over and over again how meaningless their hopes for the future are.
We Can Rule Together: He offers this to Banagher in episode six of the OVA, stating that as a powerful Newtype he can also become a vessel for the hopes of the Spacenoids.
We Have Reserves: Quite happy to sacrifice Marida in order to better assess the Unicorn's capabilities.
What the Hell, Hero?: Delivered to him by Audrey for his plan to use Laplace's Box to create a special economic zone that will exclude the Earth. Of note, Audrey says he's not the Char she knew, which can be taken to mean that he literally isn't the Char she knew or that he has changed so drastically so as to be unrecognizable.
Wrong Genre Savvy: In all fairness, his plan to get all the colonies to co-operate in starving the Federation to death, while hardly guaranteed to work, is still a whole lot smarter and more efficient than anything the various Neo-Zeon movements have come up with before or since from F91 onwards. The ability to shut out one's oppressors through economic action, rather than begging for recognition they have no desire to give or clashing against them in bloody and wasteful wars of independence is the holy grail of many a resistance movement. Frontal is only wrong because he had the misfortune of being born into a universe where Psychic Powers exist that have the potential to render his plans and the cynical worldview that drives them obsolete. The fact that this state of affairs he imagines actually comes to pass come the far future of Gundam: Reconguista in G drives the bitter irony home.
You Shall Not Pass!: Invoked in Episode 7, after failing to acquire Laplace's Box, appearing before Banagher (who was still going for the Unicorn) aboard the massive Neo Zeong:
Frontal: Inheritor of the Box! I must warn you, you are not getting past me...

Angelo Sauper

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angelo_8179.jpg

Main mecha: AMS-129 Geara Zulu, YAMS-132 Rozen Zulu

"If it's never right to take another life, then you're as guilty as anyone for using the Gundam! You killed one of our best men out there! What do you have to say for that?!"

Voiced by:' Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese), Michael Sinterniklaas (English)

A young Lieutenant within the Sleeves who serves as the devoted commander of Full Frontal's royal guard. He is somewhat known for his serious devotion to his superior and his ideals, and for the distinctively purple color scheme on all the mobile suits he uses.

Abusive Parents: His step-father, who forced himself on a very young Angelo on a regular basis.
Ace Custom: His Geara Zulu is bright purple, heavily decorated, and is based on MSV's Heavy Weapon Type Geara Doga instead of the standard model. In the novel and Episode 5 of the OVA, he later upgrades to the deadly Rozen Zulu.
- Attack Drones: The INCOMs on his Rozen Zulu. Later joined by rose-shaped psyco-jammers in Episode 7.
All There in the Manual: His backstory was never featured in the anime, only in the novels. Considering said backstory, it's hardly surprising.
Badass Normal: He's a very dangerous pilot, despite not being a Newtype, Cyber or otherwise.
Berserk Button: If he perceives anyone as showing Full Frontal even the slightest bit of disrespect, Angelo feels the need to beat that respect into the offender. Note the word perceives. Angelo's interpretation of disrespect can be over incredibly petty things, and includes anything that isn't unquestioningly adhering to Full Frontal's every whim. So it more like Hair-Trigger Temper, rather than Berserk Button.
Bodyguard Crush: According to his bio, he is head of the of Frontal's bodyguard team and adores Full Frontal. In the trailer for the final episode (which was actually the moment he was experiencing Mind Rape courtesy of an Awakened Unicorn), he actually expresses jealousy that Full Frontal is rather more interested in Banagher:
Angelo: Why does the captain need you? Someone who doesn't even want him! Why does it have to be so unfair?!
Combat Stilettos: His second MS, the Rozen Zulu, sports these. And they're pretty damn noticeable.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Delivers one to the MS team of the General Revil when he debuts in the Rozen Zulu.
Dark and Troubled Past/Rape as Backstory: In his childhood, he witnessed his mother being raped to insanity by vengeful Federation soldiers, his step-father was already raping him on a daily basis when he was nine, and before meeting Frontal he was an alcoholic, drug addict male prostitute.
Driven to Suicide: He attempts this to escape said Mind Rape, ramming himself with his own Attack Drone claw to escape from it, but survives. In the novels, it's heavily implied the attack completely destroyed his mind.
The Dragon: To Frontal, being his right-hand man.
- This is perhaps exemplified in Episode 5, during his and Full Frontal's Villainous Rescue against the General Revil; Angelo takes out an entire squadron by himself, then pauses to bow out from the action and allow Full Frontal to come front and center, essentially rolling out the red carpet for his superior officer.
Depraved Homosexual/ Sissy Villain: Despite being an effete homosexual with a very refined sense of style he is unquestionably the most overtly violent and spiteful character in the entire show.
Expy: He seems to be an expy of Mashmyre Cello, he has Bodyguard Crush on the Big Bad as well as piloting a Mobile Suit similar to the Hamma Hamma but with a purple coloration instead of green.
- Physically, he is almost identical to Dorel Ronah from Mobile Suit Gundam F91.
Hot-Blooded: Tends to lash out on occasion. (Or it may have something to do with his VAs.)
Jerkass: Angelo is a petty, spiteful little cunt, plain and simple. He gets pissed about anything he thinks is "disrespectful" of his boss, with the crowning examples being his apoplectic shrieking in episodes 2 and 6. In the former, he takes a shot at the Unicorn after it gives Full Frontal some difficulty in battle, then screeches at how it "made" him shoot, thereby ruining Full Frontal's "perfect battlefield". In the latter, Mineva says that Zeon are responsible for making Universal Century the way it is by starting the One Year War, and therefore bear the responsibility of fixing the entire sordid mess. Cue Angelo screaming at her for "refusing to understand the Captain's ideas". In the final episode he tells Banagher how he's hated him ever since they first met.
(After locking the Unicorn's psycoframe with the Rozen Zulu's psyco-jammers) For the first time we met, I hated you... Soon I won't have to; YOU'LL DIE!!!
Kick the Dog: In the battle at Magallanica, Angelo actually kills some of his own men just so he could fight Banagher alone. He justifies this by saying that they weren't truly loyal to Frontal's cause. In the novels he does the same, but doesn't bother with any justification - they were in the way, and that was enough.
They're all warmongers! They claim to be devoted to the cause, but their deficiency has ruined the world! They're a disease to society!
Mind Rape: Experienced this when Banagher, now having fully awakened as a Newtype, broke free of the psyco-jammer grid. The novel makes it clear that he feels violated upon Banagher peering into his mind and learning his Dark and Troubled Past.
Praetorian Guard: The commander of Frontal's Royal Guard.
Purple Is Powerful: His Ace Custom Geara Zulu, and the more powerful Rozen Zulu.
Rape and Switch: It's implied in the novels that his sexuality may be the result of being repeatedly raped by men for most of his childhood and teen years.
Something about a Rose: Scenes involving him have roses appearing on the screen. And that is not even counting the motif of his Mid-Season Upgrade.
The Oldest Profession: Used to be a male prostitute before being found by Full Frontal.
Undying Loyalty: Towards Full Frontal.

Suberoa Zinnerman

"Crying because you care is a whole different matter. I don't trust anyone who never cries; that's my philosophy..."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zinnerman_3549.jpg

Voiced by: Hideaki Tezuka (Japanese), David Brimmer^note (English)

A Sleeves member who serves as the captain of the camouflaged freighter Garencieres, and commands its combat forces.

A Father to His Men: Particularly and especially towards Marida, who he was willing to launch a near-suicidal assault on the Nahael Argama whilst it was in low Earth orbit for after she was captured by the EFSF.
Anti-Villain: As much as he might protest otherwise, he does have a functional soul. It's the reason he eventually approved sending out Banagher against the Shamblo, the Sleeves' own superweapon, after it went berserk and started massacring civilians.
Badass Normal: No Newtype powers, and can't pilot a mobile suit worth a damn. Still gets the job done.
The Captain: Of the Garencieres. and as of the end of Episode 7, the Magallanica.
He Who Fights Monsters: The atrocities he's seen during the long Federation-versus-Zeon war have done some bad, bad things to him. When the Shamblo first begins firing at civilians and civilian buildings, Zinnerman refuses to intervene because it's a Federation city being destroyed. He only relents after Banagher beats the crap out of him and his bridge crew, disgusted at his callousness, don't lift a finger to stop it.
Heel–Face Turn: Does this with the rest of the Garencieres crew in Episode 6
Large and in Charge: A captain with a reasonably large build, although considerably shorter in height than Flaste.
Parental Substitute: To Marida and Banagher.
Papa Wolf: Seriously, do not fuck with his crew. That goes double for Marida and Mineva.
Pet the Dog: Several instances, mostly involving Marida.
Replacement Goldfish: If his daughter were alive, she'd be the same age as Marida.^note
Storming the Castle: Pulls this off in Episode 5 to rescue Mineva, using nothing but a Base Jabber (and by that we mean he rides the Base Jabber without a Mobile Suit), while combat ensues between the two Unicorns outside. Succeeds with help from Banagher, AND gets back Marida as a bonus.
Stout Strength: He's a lot more dangerous in a fight than his bulk might suggest.

Marida Cruz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Marida-Ple12_4813.jpg

Main mecha: NZ-666 Kshatriya, RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee

"Nothing can live without light. But the people abandoned in space eventually found a new light to replace God. And the new light they found to guide them is Zeon."

Voiced by: Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)

A Newtype woman who pilots the monstrous Kshatriya for the Sleeves with the rank Lieutenant Junior Grade. Rather stoic in most situations, she really doesn't like Gundams, which sees her repeatedly pitting herself against the Unicorn. In reality, she is actually Ple Twelve, one of Glemmy Toto's cyber newtype clones of Elpeo Ple from the First Neo-Zeon War.

Ambiguously Related: Marida being a Ple clone would, going by production notes for ZZ, make her Audrey's genetic first cousin.
Anti-Villain: Marida is cyber-newtype who born from cloning system based on Elpeo Ple DNA, with name "Ple Twelve". Glemy Toto and Full Frontal stated that she was intent to be a controlled ultimate living instrument of wars and serve her "master" order without questioning their morality.
Artificial Human: One of the many Ple Clones created during the First Neo Zeon War, and apparently the Last of Her Kind.^note
Berserk Button: All Gundams and things that look like Gundams will stir up her ire. It was almost certainly programmed in by Glemmy.
Marida: Gundam... Gundam... Gundam... IS THE ENEMY!
Big Brother Mentor: To Banagher and Audrey.
Brainwashed and Crazy: After her capture in Episode 3, Martha restores her original programming, requiring Banagher and Zinnerman to fix her again by, ironically, invoking her original programming.
Broken Bird: As one of the Ple clones, after the war she became a child prostitute.
Cool Big Sis: Towards Banagher, after they got over their original hostility, and later Mineva.
Dark and Troubled Past: So much. First she was sent into battle (along with other Ple Clones) during the closing stages of the First Neo-Zeon War, then was plunged into prostitution until she met Zinnerman.
Dark Is Evil: As an Anti-Villain and occasional ally, she wears a pink/purple flight suit and pilots the green Kshatriya. As a brainwashed puppet of the Vist Foundation, she wears a black pilot suit and pilots the black & very dangerous Unicorn Banshee. Do the maths.
- Dark Is Not Evil: When she made a Heel–Face Turn
Dying Moment of Awesome: She holds off the Banshee in a barely-repaired Kshatriya, and her death at Riddhe's hands kicks Banagher's Newtype abilities into overdrive, as well as shock Riddhe out of his funk to let him to fully accept his Newtype abilities and his place in his family's destiny.
Evil Redhead: For a given value of 'evil'.
Expy: Marida is essentially a grown-up Ple Two (being a clone of Elpeo Ple) and therefore possesses her personality traits (cold and distant in comparison to the ever happy Elpeo Ple). In addition Marida has noticeable psychological scars stemming from her history as a prostitute/sex slave
- Her backstory also makes her something of an Expy to Lalah Sune, since they both were prostitutes before being found by Char and Zinnerman respectively.
- Once you learn about her true identity, you will begin to recognize that the Kshatriya is basically a smaller, quad-winged Queen Mansa (Ple Two's unit) with its Funnels stored in its wings instead of a tail binder..
Freak Out: When she sees her old MP Qubeley in episode 4.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has plenty of scars from her days as a prostitute and she keeps them all, no matter what side she goes along.
Heel–Face Turn: After getting saved from the Vist Foundation's machinations, she eventually goes along with Banagher's team in his bid to stop the war between the Federation and the Neo Zeon Remnants.
Iconic Outfit: Marida inherits Elpeo Ple's tendency to wear purple and black outfits.
Irony: Her Ple programming and traumatic experiences in the First Neo Zeon War led her to try to attack anything looking like a Gundam on sight... which became a bit awkward when the Vist Foundation had her pilot one. Needless to say, realising this was a big factor in breaking her brainwashing.
Lightning Bruiser: Her suit the Khsatriya is very fast, tough and hard hitting, but pales in comparison to the Banshee.
Meaningful Name: Marida Cruz can mean Lioness on the Cross.
Morality Pet: To Zinnerman, whose concern for her wellbeing is one of the clearest things separating him from, say, Full Frontal.
Number of the Beast: Her mobile suit, the Kshatriya, has a designation number of NZ-666. Being a Tyke Bomb and Creepy Child in her early days as Ple Twelve might contribute to it, but she's not at all here For the Evulz.
Oh, Crap!:
- Marida has such a moment when she sees the titular Gundam. Considering her background (and that of Gundams in general), this is wholly justified.
- She had the same reaction even earlier after she accidentally hit a ReZEL's reactor; also wholly justified in that the resulting explosion was powerful enough to punch a hole in the colony wall.
  - Which also happened in Mobile Suit Gundam.
- She has an even bigger one when she suddenly realizes she's no longer in control of the Kshatriya's own funnels.
Out-of-Clothes Experience: She gets one in Episode 3.
Punch-Clock Villain: Sees herself as nothing more than a tool to be employed by whoever her master happens to be, mostly because that is, in fact, what she was designed as.
Rape as Backstory: She was a prostitute, and her body is scarred by countless abortions and pregnancies (even geting her uterus removed, according to the OVA).
Replacement Goldfish: One of the more positively-portrayed (and less creepy) examples - Zinnerman considers her a replacement for his dead daughter, Marie, and is a loving, if somewhat stern, Parental Substitute to her.
Sacrificial Lion: This is almost a literal translation of her name. Her death in the final battle connects everyone together and lets us know, this is the end.
Sex Slave: Formerly a prostitute when Zinnerman found her.
Spell My Name With An S: Ple Twelve. All Ples, despite having a clearly stated official spelling of their name, are constantly referred to as "Purus" by the fans, after the Japanese pronunciation. The English dub for episode three put this to rest, revealing that it's pronounced "Pull", which keeps the original pun (Elpeo Ple was named for a Hentai magazine called Lemon People or L People).
Starter Villain: Serves as Banagher's (and by extension, the Unicorn's) first opponent in episode 1.
The Stoic: Outside of the situation where her programming kicks in, she's of a generally phlegmatic disposition and is indeed largely stoic and unemotional,
- Not So Stoic: When she catches a glimpse of the Unicorn. She also has a major panic attack when Martha shows her her old Quebeley.
Super-Strength: The show doesn't often draw attention to it, but this seems to be part of her Cyber-Newtype enhancement package. Among other things, it lets her perform a one-handed Neck Lift on Banagher in the novels and effortlessly manhandle Riddhe in the anime. It also prevents her from being sucked out into space when being transferred from the Nahel Argama to a Vist Foundation facility, as well as save Alberto.
Took a Level in Idealism: Motivate Banagher and Audrey/Mineva to stay strong and always follow their heart.
Took a Level in Kindness: After being saved from Vist Foundation control, Marida start show her true kindness and soft-side to Banagher, Audrey/Mineva and Zinnerman.
Undying Loyalty: Toward Zinnerman, who is not only her master but also her surrogate father. Previously, as Ple Twelve she had the greatest loyalty to Glemy Toto. Even though he viewed her like most of clones as expendable, she genuinely held loyalty for him. Further shown when she asked him what should she do after sensing Glemy's death
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: As a Vist Foundation puppet. Not so much as a pilot for the Sleeves, where she does try to avoid collateral damage, but is stuck with a suit that makes that very, very difficult.
Virtue Is Weakness: Before she Took a Level in Kindness, she believe that virtue can't save everyone from anything, like erase sin or wash away the impurities.
You Shall Not Pass!: Her final act in the Kshatriya Repaired is to stall the much more powerful Banshee for Banagher and the Unicorn to clear a path for the Nahel Argama. She manages to kick the Banshee's ass despite piloting a machine that is barely holding together, only to take a Beam Magnum to the cockpit.
Younger Than They Look: Despite looking like an older woman in her 20-30's, Marida is only 18 years old (only 2 years older than Audrey and Banegher). Probably because of her status as a clone.

Flaste Schole

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

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese), Sean Schemmel (English, episodes 1-3), Patrick Seitz (English, episodes 4-7)

The XO/First Mate and since Gilboa's death in the TV the helmsman of the camouflaged freighter Garencieres. At first glance Flaste has an air of unapproachability, but his personality is actually more like that of a big brother, and he has the full trust of the crew. He is also an old acquaintance of Captain Zinnerman, and supports him well as the second in command of the Garencieres crew.

'80s Hair: Hey Flaste, nice sideburns!
Even Evil Has Standards: He doesn't like civilian casualties one bit. Especially underlined by his reaction to the Shamblo's rampage in Episode 4.
Gentle Giant: A laid-back, friendly guy once you get to know him, as Banagher found out when he joined the crew.
Number Two: Is actually the Garencieres' First Mate, getting to helm it only after Gilboa Sant's death, as it was Gilboa who was the ship's original designated helmsman.
We Hardly Knew Ye: On a meta scale, he expresses this sentiment after the Garencieres' sinking in the TV series, as he just got used to helming it.

Gilboa Sant

Main mecha: AMS-129 Geara Zulu

Voiced by: Cho (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

An MS pilot on the Garencieres crew and in the TV series its original helmsman. Gilboa has a friendly demeanor, and is the father of three children.

Anti-Villain: Even more than everyone else on the ship's crew, never being even remotely threatening to anyone except in his role of an MS pilot.
Heroic Sacrifice: Intercepted Unicorn's beam attack for Sinanju with his Geara Zulu.
Morality Pet: To the Sleeves as a whole.
My Country, Right or Wrong: His position on Zeon's case. It really shows when Banagher recounts Operation British and Gilboa looks ashamed.
Punch-Clock Villain: Doesn't mean harm to anyone, and fights only because of My Country, Right or Wrong.

Hill Dawson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hill_6.png

Voiced by: Hideyuki Umezu (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)

The captain of the Sleeves flagship Rewloola. He holds the rank of Captain.

The Captain: Of the Rewloola.

Tomura

Voiced by: Fuminori Komatsu (Japanese)

A mechanic of the Garencieres team. Despite his youth, his mobile suit maintenance skills are superb, and he has no trouble setting up the Unicorn Gundam with a double set of the Kshatriya's beam gatling guns. He is an optimist with a cheerful personality .

Other Zeon

Loni Garvey

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Loni-OVA_6817.jpg

Main mecha:AMA-X7 Shamblo

Voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

A mobile suit pilot in one of the major Zeon remnant groups on Earth. She is the daughter of the wealthy Mahdi Garvey, a former Zeon soldier who brought the remnants together. Beyond this her character differs wildly between the original novel and the anime. In the novel she is the sole voice of reason in her family, forced to co-pilot the Shamblo as she tries in vain to rein in her father and brothers who have been driven mad by their lust for vengeance against the Federation for all of their friends who've been killed since the One Year War. In the anime, however it is Loni who is a revenge-crazed lunatic, having lost her aforementioned father and brothers to the Federation.

Adaptational Villainy: Her portrayal in the anime is very different from the novels, where she is a Defector from Decadence wracked by guilt from the destruction her Jerkass father causes in the Shamblo. She is fatally injured by him in response, and then sends psychic messages to Banagher revealing the Shamblo's weak spots and allowing him to take the Shamblo down.
Ambiguously Brown: Intentionally so in the anime. It's much less ambiguous iin the Novels, where she was depicted as a Muslim woman, though both this part of her background and her family's involvement with Islamic extremism were toned down in the anime due to it being released around the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Anti-Villain: In the novels.
Axe-Crazy: Not that her malfunctioning Psycommu helped.
Death by Adaptation: In contrast to the anime, her father and brothers were still alive at this point in the original novels, and pilots of the Shamblo alongside her.
Expy: She's like a vengeful Lalah Sune. In fact her and Banagher's relationship bears some similarity, Banagher manages to connect with Loni and form a deep understanding/emotional bond, only for her to be killed at the crucial moment (In Lalah's case, by Amuro himself, in Loni's, by Riddhe)
Law of Chromatic Superiority: The Shamblo mobile armor she pilots.
Madness Mantra: Starts chanting "Sieg Zeon" during her final moments aboard the Shamblo, unable to shake away from her Brain Washed And Crazy state via the mobile armor's "runaway" Psycommu system.
Only Sane Woman: The novels describe her as this compared to her Shamblo co-pilots. Averted in the OVA.
Redemption Equals Death in the anime, her last moments after finally being convinced by Banagher to let go of her hate, has her shield him and Riddhe from her own mech's attack, and peacefully letting Riddhe kill her and destroy Shamblo.
Revenge: Her primary motivation in the anime is taking revenge on the Federation forces for killing her parents.
Tragic Villain: Revenge is all she has left in her for the anime.

Yonem Kirks

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

Main mecha: MS-05L Zaku I Sniper Type

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)

The current leader of a group of Zeon remnants based in New Guinea. After Mahdi's death, he looked after Loni like a substitute father.

Break Out the Museum Piece: Fights in the aforementioned One Year War Era Zaku I Sniper, which is outdated technology by nearly twenty years. It's basically all the Zeon Remnants can afford to field at this point.
Morality Chain: To Loni. Malfunctioning Psycommu aside, It's only a combination of his concern for her and his being her superior officer that keeps the bitter and angry pilot of a massive Mobile Armor from going Axe-Crazy every time she sorties. Even his dying thoughts still manages to make Loni snap out of her psychotic episode.
Taking You with Me: In Episode 4, he attempts to self-destruct his mobile suit by destroying its reactor with his rifle to destroy the Tri-Stars suits attacking him. One of them disables his suit's arms before he can pull the trigger, leaving him to die as the ruined Zaku falls down and he gets crushed inside the cockpit.

Fred Reber

Main mecha: MS-08TX/S Efreet Schneid.

A member of the Zeon Remnants, he pilots the MS-08TX/S Efreet Schneid.

Ace Pilot: Presumably. He was a Gundam pilot who engaged in One-Man Army stunts during the One Year War.
All There in the Manual: He's a character in the video game, Mobile Suit Gundam: Missing Link.
Blade Enthusiast: The Schneid has 14 heat darts mounted on. When he was still piloting the Pixie Gundam, he made more use of its beam knives than any other weapon.
Code Name: Was known as "Ripper" in his old unit.
Dual Wielding
Face–Heel Turn: Was a member of the Earth Federation penal unit, Slave Wraith, during the One Year War, he defected to Zeon shortly before Zeon's evacuation from Earth.
Take Up My Sword: During the One Year War, the MS-08TX Efreet was used by Zeon Captain Doug Schneid, who Fred fought alongside and did a Hold the Line protecting the HLV launches during the evacuation. Fred takes up the man's mobile suit, upgrades it and names it after him.
What Happened to the Mouse?: While the rest of the remnants were dispatched once Federation reinforcements arrived, nothing was shown of him after he wins his fight against a GM Semi-Striker.

Char Aznable

Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)

The Red Comet. A legendary Zeon ace who was also the son of Zeon's founder Zeon Daikun. Started the previous Neo Zeon uprising before him and Amuro disappeared when the latter inadvertently used his newtype powers to stop Axis from falling to earth. His memories and ambitions were implanted into his clone, Full Frontal.

Dead Person Conversation: Helps Lalah convince Full Frontal to let Banagher go and give up the war when she communicates with him during their shared vision.
Posthumous Character: Not that it stops him from helping Lalah save the day.

Lalah Sune

Voiced by: Keiko Han (Japanese)

A Zeon Newtype from the One Year War, had a connection to both Char and Amuro. Her death at the hands of the latter remained a sore spot for both rivals.

Dead Person Conversation: Her coming to talk to Full Frontal during his shared Newtype vision with Banagher is part of what makes him let the latter go.
Posthumous Character: Not that it stops her from saving the day.

Anaheim Electronics

Martha Vist Carbine

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MarthaVist_2517.jpg

Voiced by: Tomoko Shiota (Japanese), Ellyn Stern (English)

Cardeas' younger sister. A woman with a somewhat elegant appearance, shoulder length blond hair, tight cheeks and deep eyes that give off a cold magnetism. She is married to the chairman of Anaheim Electronics, Melanie Hue Carbine (Martha Vist is often referred to as "The Empress Of The Moon") of the Carbine family which established Anaheim Electronics. Through the Carbine family she has connections with the higher ups of the Earth Federation. She has a sharper mouth than her husband, which makes her a shrewd businesswoman. To the Vist family, it was a rarity to bear a woman of such character. She sends Alberto Vist to Industrial 7 in order to murder Cardeas. She’s an ambitious woman who takes part in the delivery obstruction of “Laplace’s Box” and aims at seizing the Vist Foundation as well as taking back the box.

Big Bad Ensemble: Alongside Frontal. The two are parts of a dichotomy, with Martha's violent conservatism and desire to preserve the status quo by any means necessary being treated as far worse than Full Frontal's desire to use the Box to create change (albeit bad change).
Butter Face: Downplayed; she's not exactly ugly, but her hard, mannish face is quite a contrast with her buxom, voluptuous body.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: It's clear that she's had a hand in Anaheim's shadier and more dubious activities.
The Baroness: The Rosa Klebb type - ambitious, manipulative, and sharp, with a taste for cruelty, as Marida found out.
Cain and Abel: Cain to Cardeas's Abel
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She genuinely cares about Alberto.
Evil Aunt: She is Cardeas Vist's younger sister thus making her Banagher's aunt. As for the evil part... yeah.
Faux Affably Evil: Polite, friendly, and reasonable... until you say no. Then the knives come out.
Freudian Excuse: It's implied that her actions were partly to get back at Syam Vist over killing her father.
Graceful Loser: Accepts the loss of Vist-Anaheim corporate power over the Federation and her arrest by Bright's Londo Bell forces with grim but calm resolution.
- Alberto's impassioned speech to her about how she had fallen into the trap of the people she hated convinces her to bow out without a fight.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: She calls Ple-Twelve this when attempting to recondition her to make a controlled puppet, just because the latter was born as a living instrument of war.
Manipulative Bitch: And she's not above using more than mere words to get the job done.
Meaningful Name: 'Carbine' is very appropriate for an arms dealer, let alone a whole family of them.
The Needs of the Many: She attempts to justify Using the rebuild Gryps 2 Colony Laser to Bright using this logic. It's obvious that she's doing it to get his goat.
Non-Action Big Bad: She's a fifty-five-year-old civilian with no combat training. This one should be obvious.
Opposites Attract: Her husband was shown (in Zeta Gundam) to be a generally kind man.
- It's heavily implied by Alberto that she use to be a lot kinder when she was young, but the murder of her father by Syam caused her to become bitter and cold to most people.
Small Name, Big Ego: As Mineva reveals Laplace's Box to the Earth Sphere, Martha's influence seems to slide almost immediately. To the point that Bright simply brushes her last attempt at damage control as a that of a meddling civilian.
Silver Vixen: As emphasised by the lingering shot of her backside in Episode 5◊, she keeps herself in remarkably good shape for her age.
Straw Feminist: In theory more than in practice. Likes to go on about how "men's logic" is responsible for the screwed up state of the Universal Century and how only an intelligent women like herself is capable of fixing it. However, Alberto, her nephew, acknowledges that she's got a point about the male-dominated Earth Federation's mismanagement, and suggests that 'fighting against men's logic' is probably going to translate as much-needed political reform and anti-corruption drives. Alberto eventually calls her out on this in Episode 7.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Her objectives are to preserve the status quo, preventing another period of bloody anarchy like the Zeon wars, and to use the political capital she gains from this to address the Federation's corruption, inefficiency, and hefty glass ceiling. People who find themselves an obstacle to this tend to cease to be, in multiple senses of the phrase.

Alberto Vist

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi (Japanese), JB Blanc (English)

An Anaheim Electronics executive. He comes to Industrial 7 in order to block the transaction between the Vist Foundation and the Sleeves.

Cain and Abel: Cain to Banagher's Abel.
Captain Ersatz: To Beast Rabban from Dune, though he's actually far less evil.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: As a right hand man of his aunt, he's deeply involved in the Anaheim's shady dealings.
Even Evil Has Standards: For all of his unpleasantness, he's visibly uncomfortable with what the Vist Foundation puts Marida through. Her saving his life might have something to do with that.
- By Episode 5, his puppyish concern for her wellbeing suggests that he might have a bit of a crush on her.
- Feeling her death in Episode 7 drives him to do a complete Heel–Face Turn.
Fat Comic Relief: While he seems a Fat Bastard at first, Alberto becomes a comedic baffoon when he joins the Nahel Argama shouting ineffectively and losing his coordination in the low gravity environments.
Large and in Charge: Unlike his brother's and father's lean physique, Alberto is notably rotund.
Morality Chain: He develops an ambiguous affection for Marida that goes beyond superior and subordinate. It could be read as either romantic or paternal, but either way she doesn't reciprocate.
My God, What Have I Done?: Enters a state of shock after shooting his father Cardeas, immediately retreating after the act.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: Well, at least tries to be, attempting to put the weight if the Anaheim Electronics on Captain Midas couple of times, though the good captain shows an unexpected amount of spine.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Often looks like a mindless crony of Martha, but actually doesn't care for her at all, and manages to successfully hide it from her.
- Later episodes reveals that he actually idolizes her, but disapproves of how she taken to the tactics of the people she despises to fight them. His impassioned speech about that convinces her of the error of her ways.
Patricide: Shot his father, presumably under orders from his aunt (at least, this is what Cardeas muses).
Punch-Clock Villain: While he widely participates in a darker side of the AE's business, this is largely of family and company loyalty, rather than For the Evulz, and he does a Heel–Face Turn on the first opportunity.
Ship Tease: With Marida, on whom he developed a bit of a crush.
Villainous Glutton: He even looks the part.

Aaron Terzieff

Voiced by: Etsuo Yokobori (Japanese), Taliesin Jaffe (English)

An Anaheim Electronics engineer who participated in the RX-0 development project as part of the armor materials division. He was detained by ECOAS when he escaped from Magallanica.

The Engineer: Was partly involved in the UC project and serves as one of Nahel Argama's mechanics after being retrieved from Industrial 7.
Mr. Exposition: His job is generally to explain to the laymen how exactly some of the mobile suits featured in the series are supposed to work.

Characters / Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

Edit Locked

Civilians

Banagher Links

Audrey Burne / Mineva Lao Zabi

Takuya Irei

Micott Barsch

Haro

Kai Shiden

Beltorchika Irma

Vist Foundation

Cardeas Vist

Syam Vist

Gael Chan

Earth Federation

Riddhe Marcenas

Otto Midas

Daguza Mackle

Conroy Haagensen

Mihiro Oiwaken

Liam Borrinea

Hasan

Ronan Marcenas

Ricardo Marcenas

Captain Bright Noa

Meran

The Tri-Stars Team

Robin Diez

Amuro Ray

Neo Zeon Remnants / "The Sleeves"

Full Frontal

Angelo Sauper

Suberoa Zinnerman

Marida Cruz

Flaste Schole

Gilboa Sant

Hill Dawson

Tomura

Other Zeon

Loni Garvey

Yonem Kirks

Fred Reber

Char Aznable

Lalah Sune

Anaheim Electronics

Martha Vist Carbine

Alberto Vist

Aaron Terzieff

Alternative Title(s): Gundam Unicorn

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