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Space Defense Force
Sirius Platoon
Manabu Yuuki
Manabu Yuuki
Voiced by: Naoki Yanagi (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Manabu gets roped into singing the opening theme in the first season's Hot Springs Episode, and he's forced to sing the tune while wearing a pink mini-dress.
- Hot-Blooded: Always up and raring to go, Manabu just doesn't stay still.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: One of Manabu's key character traits is that he tends to ignore orders that he thinks are wrong or go against his personal ethics. Additionally, in the penultimate episode of the first season, the whole of Sirius Platoon gets back together to save the day, despite having been broken up and Captain Bulge having been officially booted from the force. Said unemployment means that Bulge doesn't have to worry about getting punished while away from Planet Destiny. And strategic commander Todo decides to screw the regulations when the corrupt and incompetent intelligence general hijacks the control center (Todo sticks up the general at gunpoint and then orders the security guards to escort the general out of the room in handcuffs).
- So Proud of You: Manabu gets to hear his father say this to him in a sort of vision thing in the final episode of Season 1. He gets to hear it for real at the end of Season 2, but in a tragic manner.
- Time Travel: Manabu falls back in time to just before his brother's death... in the second episode. And per the usual for anything made by Leiji Matsumoto, you can't change the past to save anyone.
Louise Fort Drake
Louise Fort Drake
Voiced by: Asami Sanada (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
- Abusive Parents: Her father is President Drake. She had a rough time growing up with him because he tended to neglect her and she disagreed with the way that he sat back and never really ruled with his heart.
- Blind Obedience: She tends to want to follow orders, even when she feels they are wrong. Contrasting with Manabu's Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! attitude.
- Ms. Fanservice: To some extent, but only when she's not in uniform.
- Save the Villain: Downplayed example, and more personal for Louise. Her father that she disagreed with so much? She saves his life, and he realizes just how wrong he had been all along.
- Smurfette Principle: She's the lone human female of Sirius Platoon.
Schwanhelt Bulge
Schwanhelt Bulge
Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)
- A Father to His Men: He's seen as a father figure to the other members of the platoon.
- Batman Gambit: Bulge knows his questionable actions, namely punching General Ivanov in the face after countermanding unethical orders, will likely result in his dismissal (and indeed he gets fired in episode 23), so he hands the Cosmo matrix (a key to defeating the Big Bad) to his train's mechanics so that it can be studied and integrated into Big One's weapons system. When the intelligence bureau demands the Cosmo matrix, the mechanics give him a fake. When Bulge gets fired because of Ivanov's political influence, Big One is officially impounded. But of course, the mechanics take the time to fix Big One while every other platoon is out (getting killed). By the time Bulge gets the secret go-ahead from Commander Todo to get Sirius Platoon back together, Big One is ready to roll. In other words, Bulge used his own dismissal as a way to get Big One ready for the final battle and keep his platoon away from the eyes of the corrupt intelligence bureau.
- The Captain: Very obviously the captain of Big One. He tries to live up to his predecessor's standards.
- Lost Lenore: There is one woman he's tried to contact over the years. She's alive, of course, but Bulge never succeeds in reaching her by phone or in meeting her in person.
Bruce J. Speed
Bruce J. Speed
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
- Anyone Can Die: Mostly one-off or minor characters die, but this series practically does the worst thing imaginable and kills off Bruce.
- Doom Magnet: Every character he's been assigned to work with has ended up dying, to the point that he's earned the nickname "Toxic Bruce." The worst instance of doom is, well, Owen's death.
- Dying Alone: At a gas station of all places, shot In the Back by some random punk.
David Young
David Young
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Markus Lloyd (English)
- Tickle Torture: In "Memory Gallery," this is one of the ways in which David convinces the memory thief to give back Bruce's memory.
Yuki Sexaroid
Yuki Sexaroid
Voiced by: Naoko Suzuki (Japanese), Amber Cotton (English)
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A blonde whose mission is to help others.
- Hospital Hottie: She's the medical officer aboard the Big One.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Put her in a fancy dress. Yeah, she's definitely going to be great off duty.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: As a sexaroid assigned to the platoon, Yuki doesn't really feel like part of the team at first because she's just programmed to do her job and can be easily be replaced if she gets destroyed. Manabu, however, doesn't buy this and helps her to see that she's more than this. And a person resembling Tochiro Oyama (Kei Oyama, who is most certainly a relative) tells Yuki that her soul is human, even if her body is mechanical.
Killian Black
Killian Black
Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese)
- Ensign Newbie: As he is part of a cadet program, Killian comes off as this.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Manabu
Wataru Yuuki
Wataru Yuuki
Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Troy Baker (English)
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the very first episode he sacrifices himself to save his crew and the galaxy from a destroyer coming through a warp hole. In Season 2, he does this again to stop the rogue tunneling machine from destroying Frell's home planet, namely by having Manabu kill his spirit body.
Owen
Owen
Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese), Michael Sinterniklaas (English)
- Posthumous Character: He was one of the characters working with Bruce in the past, and died before the series began.
Frell
Frell
Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese)
- Team Chef: She has remarkable cooking ability and was assigned as Temporary Head Chef of Sirius Platoon during the latter half of Season 2.
- Token Mini-Moe: She's the token cutie we want to protect.
Spica Platoon
Julia F. Reinhart
Julia F. Reinhart
Voiced by: Hyo-sei (Japanese), Stephanie Young (English)
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Her primary strength is in gathering intelligence.
- Cool Big Sis: Not literally. Her crew members trust her and see her as more of an older sister than a superior.
Percy Shelly
Maggie Redford
Ai Matsuura
Ai Matsuura
Voiced by: Tomato Akai (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English)
- The Gad Fly: When Louise tries to downplay the relationship between herself and Manabu, Ai asks if Manabu is romantically available.
Vega Platoon
Ryūsaku Murase
Ryūsaku Murase
Voiced by: Ryuusaku Chiziwa (Japanese), Matthew Tompkins (English)
- Leeroy Jenkins: He rushes headlong into battle without thinking much of it, and is not afraid to bang up the Iron Burger in the process.
- Lost Lenore: He is this to Julia after he gets killed.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Curry.
Edwin Silver
Jose Antonio Valdivia
Moritz Schneider
Cepheus Platoon
Guy Lawrence
Guy Lawrence
Voiced by: Yasushi Miyabayashi (Japanese)
- Berserk Button: Do NOT insult Wataru Yuuki's sacrifice in his presence.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He comes across as a total jerk to Manabu, but as is revealed later, the reason Lawrence is a complete hard-ass is because he doesn't want to lose people to unnecessary stunts or sacrifices.
- My Greatest Failure: As a former member of Sirius Platoon, Lawrence regrets not being able to prevent Captain Yuuki from making a Heroic Sacrifice.
- Not So Above It All: He actually bought cat food for a passenger's lost cat, as Bulge was trying to take care of said cat.
Jean Pierre
Jean Pierre
Voiced by: Masato Nishino (Japanese)
Kim R. Nightguy
Kori Raysheed
Kori Raysheed
Voiced by: Haruka Kimura (Japanese)
Space Panzer Grenadiers
Frederick Johansson
Mamoru Yuuki
Mamoru Yuuki
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Dave Trosko (English)
- Sacrificial Lamb: Poor Mamoru saves his little brother from an untimely death (owing to a time rift) before getting shot in the back.
Ariavenus
Ariavenus
Voiced by: Junko Iwao (Japanese)
- Grave-Marking Scene: She can be seen leaving flowers on Mamoru's grave after he died in an SPG battle.
- The Mole: Well, kind of. She decides not to kidnap Frell and leaves some nice intel for Killian, much to the dismay of her superiors.
Galaxy Railways Administration Bureau
Layla Destiny Shura
Heigorō Tōdō
Heigorō Tōdō
Voiced by: Hitoshi Kubota (Japanese) (Season 1), Yasushi Miyabayashi (Japanese) (Season 2), Andy Mullins (English)
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Todo has very good judgement in contrast to his corrupt employers.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Whenever crap's about to hit the fan, Todo will do what's right in the long run even if threatened with death.
Brad
Brad
Voiced by: Kayato Oohashi (Japanese), Frank Ford (English)
Franz
Franz
Voiced by: Youichi Masukawa (Japanese), Daniel Katsük (English)
Kate
Miki
Sayaka
Sayaka
Voiced by: Aki Nanbu (Japanese), Kate Borneman (English)
Maintenance Bureau
Whitman
Tarō Akatsuki
Baxter
Baxter
Voiced by: Ryou Sugisaki (Japanese)
Special Intelligence Bureau
Ivonov Leonidovitch Berchikov
Others
Kanna Yuuki
Kanna Yuuki
Voiced by: Youko Asagami (Japanese), Jennifer Seman (English)
Kinuko Asai
Narrator
Narrator
Voiced by: Hitoshi Kubota (Japanese), Matthew Tompkins (English)
Shaw
Shaw
Voiced by: Yuu Arata (Japanese), Jim Foronda (English)
Leon
