The son of the legendary General Gunther, Welkin just wanted to live a quiet life as a teacher. This plan gets sidetracked when The Imperials invade his hometown of Bruhl. Welkin quickly adapts and joins the Squad 7 militia as its leader. Using his scientific knowledge, he quickly becomes a strategist rivaling his father and organizes Squad 7 into the Imperials' greatest threat. In combat, Welkin generally doesn't fight directly, and instead gives orders to the squad from his father's tank, the Edelweiss.
The Ace: Played with/subverted. While Welkin is a tactical genius and incredible battlefield leader, he's not the best at actual soldiering. When on missions outside the Edelweiss, he's average at best when compared to other Scouts.
Celibate Hero: More because he tries not to focus on sexual topics than by deliberate ignorance, and in fact seems quite shy about embracing his own sexuality. It gets so bad that at one point in the anime Faldio practically asks him if he has a sex drive at all.
Expy of Yang Wen-li of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, although Welkin's not lazy or a drunk. However, their similar approach to strategy and idealism are clear giveaways that Welkin's based on him.
In the Blood: He doesn't want to be, but he's adaptable.
Nature Hero: Odd variation. He's a nature otaku, and every military strategy he uses is related to or inspired by nature in some way. Also, he's shown to be happiest when he be in a completely natural environment, just studying the wildlife.
Nice Guy: Many so-called heroes would have much to learn from Welkin.
The Power of Love: One of Welkin's hidden Potentials is even called this: all his stats are raised when Alicia is in battle with him. D'AWWE!!! :'D
The Strategist: The most powerful weapon in the entire Gallian army is Lieutenant Gunther's brain.
Voiced by Marina Inoue in Japanese and Colleen O'Shaughnessey in English.
Born and bread as a baker, Alicia was reluctant to go to war, but joined the militia to protect her hometown of Bruhl. After being rescued by Welkin, she joins Squad 7 as his second-in-command and love interest. She eventually learns that she is a descendant of the Valkyrur, and her inheritance of their powers make her one of Gallia's biggest assets. She doesn't take it too well, but she got over it with some help from Welkin.
Corporal and Shocktrooper. Rosie was a singer, but the war forced her to join the front lines of the militia effort. Because of certain events in her past, she hates Darcsens, and this instantly causes friction between her and Isara. Witnessing Isara's enthusiasm and bravery and seeing a Darcsen concentration camp do a lot to change her opinion, and Isara's death completely shatters her negative opinion of Darcsens.
Largo is a sergeant, and a veteran of the First Europan War. He served with Captain Eleanor Varrot and her lover Frederick, and still harbors a crush for her during the events of the game. Largo was at first hesitant of Welkin's leadership, but he quickly becomes one of Welkin's most trusted and supportive soldiers. Largo is also a sort of father figure to the rest of the members of Squad 7.
Anchored Ship: Harbours feelings for Eleanor Varrot, but hasn't said anything about it due to the touchy subject of Frederick.
Daughter of the genius Darcsen engineer Theimer, and adopted daughter of General Gunther, hence making her Welkin's adopted sister. Isara is gentle and good-hearted, and very brave for such a small girl. She is also an absolute engineering genius, constantly coming up with innovations during the game that save Squad 7 countless times, including waterproofing the Edelweiss for immersion and creating smoke mortars (which border on Game Breaker territory). She gets gunned down by a sniper, in the game's definitive Tear Jerker moment. Prepare a hanky.
Beware the Nice Ones: Not a kinder soul in Squad 7. Except when she's gunning down a fully armed enemy soldier in the beginning of the game, or piloting a giant-ass battle tank.
"I will thank you to watch your tongue in this house. You have to leave. Now."
Disappeared Dad: The Design Archives states that her parents died in a car crash.
Famed in Story: Squad 7 never forgets Isara. Welkin and Alicia even name their daughter after her.
Darcsen engineer who helps Squad 7 as an informant. Squad 7 first meets him inside one of the Empire's Darcsen concentration camps. He does a lot to change Rosie's perception of Darcsens, and proves a resourceful, intelligent ally. Eventually, he joins Squad 7 as a tank driver, piloting the tiny-yet-powerful light tank, the Shamrock.
Eyes Always Shut: Well one of them anyways. It opens during a few cutscenes.
Friend To All Children: Spends his time entertaining children while off-duty. In the ending, he opens Fouzen Toy Factory.
Gentle Giant: Lampshaded when Ellet calls him a "grizzly bear", Zaka replies that he'd rather think himself as a "teddy bear".
Turn The Other Cheek: Doesn't believe in revenge, even when most of his people are burnt to death inside a concentration camp, saying it won't bring them back to life.
Narm: A valley girl fighting in the military. 'Nuff said. Don't get us wrong, she's a vastly entertaining character, but seriously, even her death quote (If she does die) is amusing:
"Ugh... So lame... I'm like... Totally... Dying here..."
Magikarp Power: Possibly. All her starting potentials are negative, but her unlockable one is very good, and at higher levels she has access to the Ultimate Damage potential.
Small Girl, Big Gun: Aw, isn't she just the cutest little shocktrooper ever?
Super Strength: She is said be able to crush a watermelon with one hand. It even comes into gameplay - eventually, Audrey can punch through armor better than anyone else in her class.
Heroic Resolve: "Heh, numbers? We've got guts on our side!"
In his backstory, he also routed an unit of Imperials with only a handful of soldiers despite being outgunned and outnumbered.
Mr. Fanservice: Appears to be considered one in-universe. He starts a succesful shipping buisness after the war, but doesn't seem to realise exactly why it's so popular...
One-Hit Kill: His strongest potential gives him a chance to inflict one on tanks.
Crack Pairing: In-universe crack, with Cezary in the manga, after she mistakenly thinks that he saved her from an Imperial sniper, when it was actually Marina who saved her.
Hidden Depths: Writes a series of highly successful romance novels after the war.
Hilarious in Hindsight: Which it makes more funnier once you read the manga and realize that her novels might actually be about her and Cezary!
Meaningful Name: Her name is the French form of the Russian name Nadia, which itself is a diminutive of Nadezhda, which means "hope" in Russian.
Ramsey Clement
Brilliant, but Lazy: Has a very lackluster attitude towards weapon maintenance.
Emotionless Girl: Never seems to feel anything, even when the bullets are whizzing around her head or when she's calling for a medic.
Homer Peron
Voiced by Umeka Shoji in Japanese and Candi Milo in English.
Schoolgirl Lesbians: She quickly develops crushes on cute girls, most especially Alicia. The focus of her affection switches to Rosie after Alicia gets married to Welkin.
Claudia Mann
Cosmic Plaything: Claudia suffers from a supernaturally bad streak of luck whenever she leaves the house. Since her home was demolished by a tank shell, this is probably now permanent.
Iron Woobie: Her last class potential makes her invincible!
Lazy Bum: To the point that he actually took up horse riding so he wouldn't have to use his legs as much, and became quite skilled at it as a result.
Lucky Bastard: Became a millionare overnight when he accidentally came across a huge deposit of ragnite, but couldn't be bothered spending the money, so he gave it all to his brother.
Crazy-Prepared: Always carries more ammunition than necessary, due to a fear of running out of ammo. This stems from an incident in the First Europan War, where this actually happened and she lost a comrade as a result.
Crack Pairing: In-universe crack, with Nadine in the manga.
Dirty Coward: Became a sniper so that he could stay as far away from the fighting as possible, and is all too pleased whenever he is excluded from the squad roster.
Insufferable Genius: Specializes at counter-sniping and is good contender for title of second best sniper in Squad 7 (after, of course, Marina). Also one of the more obnoxious members of Squad 7.
The MedicSquad 7's dedicated medical specialist. The Medic will valiantly run to the battlefield to evacuate any of your members who has been taken down.
Canon Foreigner / Expy: Looks very much like Fina from Skies Of Arcadia, which was produced by the same team. Given that Vyse and Aika show up in the game as well, this is obviously intentional.
Drill Sergeant NastyWith A Heart of Gold: He may be harsh to the troops during training, but he's genuinely proud of them once a class become Elites, and once all classes reach lv 20.
No Name Given: Subverted. But you'll have to get every class to lv 20 and then check his personel profile to see it.
Rousing Speech: Gives one once every class reaches lv 20.
The Reveal: His name (see above), and that he fought as a Lancer in EW 1.]
This Is Sparta: "Congratulations [class name], as of today YOU! ARE! ELITES!"
The Aged GentlemanA retired EW 1 veteran who frequents the War Cemetary. Teaches Welkin orders in exchange for experience points.
Lost Forever: Subverted, if you turn down one of his orders, he will offer it again but much later on, leading some players to think they've fallen victim to this trope. (To this troper's knowledge, he won't do this is you say yes but don't have enough exp)
Infinity Plus One Order: Judging by his speech before teaching it, he seems to consider "Recon Request" this. To most players though, it's probably Awaken All.
Commanding officer of Regiment 3, hence making her Squad 7's superior officer. Elle (as she's known to Largo) is a wise, concerned leader for her troops, and she specifically has a fondness for Squad 7, both for their bravery and service and for the fact that Largo is one of the members. She never unnecessarily puts Squad 7 in harm's way, and trusts them to perform any mission to success. She also tends to turn a blind eye to some of Welkin's most outrageous strategies, since, well, they work.
Cold Sniper: Served as one in the first war before earning the rank of Captain.
If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him: Takes this attitude towards Geld after encouragement from Largo. Well actually, it's more like If You Kill Him You Will Be Betraying Your Dead Lover's Ideals.
Not So Stoic: In the side chapter dealing with Giorgios Geld.
Longtime friend of Welkin's, and commander of Squad 7's sister unit, Squad 1. Faldio, like Welkin, was drafted as an officer, and is an avid historian. He is one of the lead researchers on Valkyrian lore and technology for the Gallian Army. He also discovers that Alicia is a Valkyria, and shoots her to awaken her powers, an act that brings him much grief but he deems necessary for the war effort.
I Did What I Had to Do: Considered shooting Alicia necessary to save Gallia, though later comes to regret that decision.
Redemption Equals Death: Sacrifices himself while killing Maximillian in penance for wounding Alicia.
Shipper on Deck: Oddly, despite the fact Faldio hits on Alicia several times in the anime, he also seems to be working his ass off to convince Welkin to hook up with her, though, as a flashback reveals, he was there when Welkin could have married one of the most sought after women and college and let her get away, so it's fair to say most of his attraction, while possibly genuine, is also probably an attempt to get a rise out of Welkin (thus revealing Welkin has a sex drive) and get him to realize there's an attractive young lady and he would make a cute couple with her. In fact, he more or less practically screams that in Welkin's face in Episode 11.
Intrepid reporter extraordinaire. She starts off interviewing the members of the militia to bring the news to the public, but eventually settles on covering Squad 7 exclusively, not only for their news-worthiness but also because she thinks they're good people. She also, against government orders, publishes The Writing On The Wall, a clandestine paper to report the news of the war without censorship, letting the Gallian citizens know exactly what's going on. She is eventually revealed to be Irene Koller, the narrator for the game and author of the book that tells Squad 7's exploits.
Narrator All Along: It takes us a while to learn that Ellet is her maiden name and that her first name is Irene, and it brings some Fridge Brilliance about how side-chapters are annexed into the book that serves as your main menu.
A Gallian aristocrat and overall commander of the Gallian military. He was recommended to the post by the Gallian prime minister Borg, in spite of being completely unsuitable for the job.
Kick the Dog: In the anime version, he throws a tantrum after seeing Isara's Darcsen-print poncho draped over the Edelweiss. She died in the previous episode
He's also pretty abusive to Selvaria after you defeat her.
Stay in the Kitchen: His ideas about the proper place of women would get him repeatedly shot by any random feminist. He's even this way to Varrot, who is far more competent than him even on her worst day while sleep deprived and drunk.
Ted Baxter: He firmly believe the regular army kicks ass and he's a great commander when the only reason he's in command at all is thanks to having friends in high places.
Even Evil Has Standards: Maximillian is very strict on respecting the rules of warfare, and orders Geld to be court-marshalled and executed for his atrocities.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Maximillian allows anyone to join his forces whether they be women, former enemies of the Empire or Darcsens. Which explains why he has no problem of marrying Princess Cordelia after the truth about her heritage is revealed.
Visual Pun: The armour he wears can be associated with the "Maximilian" style of armour.
Selvaria Bles
Voiced by Sayaka Ohara in Japanese and April Stewart in English.
General of the Empire's Central Forces, the blood of the Valkyrur runs in Selvaria's veins. Their blood gives her incredible powers, making her the deadliest soldier in the Empire's employ. Selvaria is very much devoted to her cause, and would give up her life for Maximillian. Even so, she is not without honor, and is genuinely concerned with the welfare of her soldiers. When Maximillian decides that she is no longer an asset, Selvaria sacrifices herself to destroy Gallia's main army.
Expy: The similarities, both visual and otherwise, to Reinforce I are so many that it leaves one wondering if Selvaria is this or an outright Captain Ersatz.
I Owe You My Life: Her attitude towards Maximillian. However, it's implied he was aware of her former circumstances when he took her in and had something to do with, meaning he invoked this trope to make her loyal.
Love Martyr: Towards Maximillian, although she holds no illusion of redeeming him.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Her and Jaeger in the anime. Granted, she's icy and he acts like a playboy, but he tries to be a nice guy when Maximillian is an asshole and professionally they do work well together.
Fire-Forged Friends: Both Jaeger and Gregor are former enemies, but now that they are working together they are quite willing to confide in each other, and despite being total opposites personality wise get along surprisingly well.
Had a slightly smaller scale version of this with Selvaria, who he often tried to be nice to when Maximillian was a prick.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Don't let his affable ladies man attitude fool you. He's very sharp, and in the anime he pretty much figures out someone was trying to kill Maximillian in Episode 9 on his own.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Does to the Maximillian in the anime after he realizes his boss is a coldblooded asshole and he's one by proxy for helping him.
This Is Unforgivable: His misgivings about Maximillian mount throughout the anime, but they hit their peak when he finds out Selvaria's aide Karl, the anime expy for Johann, was shot in cold blood for standing up to Maximillian in defense of Selvaria's well being.
General Rock: While Gregor does have a personality fit for The Neidermeyer, he actually has read a book or two on military tactics and actually proves a legitimate threat to the Gallian forces, because, despite the fact he's a Jerkass to his troops (especially in the anime), he's a competent, effective Jerkass.
