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1[[WMG:[[center:[-'''''VideoGame/ThirteenSentinelsAegisRim'''''\
2'''Protagonists''' | [[Characters/ThirteenSentinelsAegisRimSupportingCast Supporting Cast]]-]]]]]
3
4[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/13_sentinels_04_770x433_cleanup.jpg]]
5 [[caption-width-right:1000:(from left to right) [[BrokenAce Ryoko Shinonome]], [[TheCharmer Shu Amiguchi]], [[NiceGirl Iori Fuyusaka]], [[HiddenBadass Juro Kurabe]], [[LovableNerd Natsuno Minami]], [[TheBigGuy Takatoshi Hijiyama]], [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Nenji Ogata]], [[MamaBear Yuki Takamiya]], [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Keitaro Miura]], [[YamatoNadeshiko Megumi Yakushiji]], [[AmnesiacHero Ei Sekigahara]], [[DeadpanSnarker Tomi Kisaragi]], [[TheSpock Renya Gouto]]]]
6
7'''Due to the fact that otherwise most of the page would be whitened out, ALL SPOILERS ARE UNMARKED. You have been warned'''
8
9The ''13'' playable characters that you cycle between through the game, each having their respective plots and arcs that develop and crisscross throughout the game.
10
11[[foldercontrol]]
12[[folder:In General]]
13%%Keep both Power of tropes seperate even if it is redundant, as it is against the rules to slash different tropes together.
14
15* AlternateSelf: All of the 13 Sentinel pilots are actually clones of the original members of the Ark Project, meant to carry on the survival of the human race. And this is not even talking about their multiple ''virtual'' alternate selves.
16* BalanceBuff: The Nintendo Switch version of the game gave each protagonist two new unlockable armaments to compensate for how turrets, interceptors, and armor-ignoring attacks were nerfed in it. A majority of them are straightforward upgrades to existing weaponry such as Juro's Elite Plasma Cutter, give characters abilities they didn't have such as Tomi getting the Super Long Range Missile, or encourage alternate playstyles like in the case of Yuki's Active Cooling Device.
17* BalancePowerSkillGimmick:
18** Balance for the second gens. They have the widest array of weapons, including support weapons, close combat weapons and ranged firepower, but outside of their turrets they don't really excel at much.
19** Power for the first gens. They hit really hard and move really fast, but lack effective ranged options and their only support options (their {{EMP}}s) are basically just there so they can punch even more stuff.
20** Skill for third gens. They're by far the most EP hungry class, and a lot of their weapons require lining up, good timing and good tactical planning to make up the deficit. If this works out, however, they'll obliterate enemies in a MacrossMissileMassacre.
21** Gimmick for the fourth gens. They have the ability to fly, completely changing how they approach movement, and their abilities are quite an eclectic mix that can be pretty hard to get to grips with without effectively building characters to make the most of them.
22* ComebackMechanic: Certain Pilot Skills grant their users bonuses if the city or terminal is damaged enough. A number of the protagonists also receive buffs if they or their allies sustain enough damage.
23* DeadAlternateCounterpart: Aside from the original scientists of Project Ark, Juro Izumi (Juro Kurabe) and Chihiro Morimura (Iori Fuyusaka) are the only survivors from the virtual landscape cast before the first loop. And Tetsuya Ida (Shu Amiguchi) is the only survivor from before the second loop, not counting Miura (BJ) and Tomi's (Miyuki Inaba) AI counterparts.
24* TheDeterminator: They all will stop at nothing to take down the Deimos down, no matter how strong said Deimos actually is.
25* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: All the melee-focused first-generation Sentinel pilots are boys, whereas two out of three range attack-focused third-generation Sentinel pilots are girls. Yuki is the only one that subverts this, with her unique skills and armaments making her 4th Generation Sentinel more optimized for melee combat. However it's worth nothing that in many cases people do not pilot their original sentinel, such as Iori's piloting Ei's Generation 2 Sentinel.
26* HumongousMecha: The robots they pilot, called "Sentinels", are dozens of meters tall and can take on the also-collossal Deimos.
27* IWorkAlone: A number of the pilots like Sekigahara and Megumi get stat boosts when they're fighting apart from the main group. Others like Yuki receive more enhancements the smaller the active party is.
28* LimitedWardrobe: Almost none of them are ever wearing something that's not a school uniform - or ''nothing at all'' if piloting a Sentinel. Natsuno occasionally averts this by switching between her school and track uniforms, though she still dons her track clothes in most of her scenes. And Takatoshi averts it when his flashbacks to 1945 show him wearing a military uniform before he scavenges for a school uniform in the 80s, and even then he only wears that one school outfit the entire rest of his route.
29* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Each of them only knows so much about the setting and conflict based on what they learn in their respective storylines, which means that by the final battle some are still being caught up on important details like how the Sentinels came to be or that they're in a simulation.
30* NoExperiencePointsForMedic: Pilots are awarded experience points based on the ratio between how much they’ve damaged the kaiju and how often they’ve received damage while acting as members of the strike team. They aren’t allotted any for protecting the terminals on the defensive team or supporting their allies through shields and repairs. This encourages the player to have all the team members they control participate in combat in some way, which is further incentivized by how killing hordes of weaker kaiju or larger targets can net Sentinels more EP faster to use costlier armaments.
31* NonUniformUniform: Justified. Most characters wear school uniforms from Sakura High, but since they also come from different times, visual changes are inevitable due to uniform updates and fashion trends (for example, Megumi and Tomi both employ ZettaiRyouiki because they come from a period that is closest to modern times). The sole exceptions are Yuki, who's from another school but is acting undercover, and Hijiyama, who had to steal his uniform from someone from another school due to his old Sakura High one becoming rags when he first time-traveled.
32* ThePowerOfFriendship: Most of the characters have pilot skills that activate in relation to their close friends.
33* ThePowerOfLove: Some characters have pilot skills that activate in relation to their love interests.
34* RagtagBunchOfMisfits:
35** In order: a surly, pompadoured delinquent with a soft heart; a hypermasculine WWII cadet [[ArmoredClosetGay deep in the closet]]; an aloof time-traveling ActionHero recovering from amnesia; an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent [[DeathOfPersonality reconstructed]] from a charismatic mech pilot; a kindly, hopeless romantic caught up in a brain-altering scheme; an ace pilot from the future whose mind is fracturing by the second; a bubbly sci-fi geek who becomes a seasoned time traveler; an earnest-to-a-fault WWII cadet stranded in the future; a stubborn and sharp-tongued stream musician taking refuge from a doomed era; a shy YamatoNadeshiko ruthlessly following orders from a talking cat; a combative Sukeban roped into a [[AmateurSleuth top-secret investigation]], a stoic high school prodigy trying to uncover a millennia-old conspiracy, and a [[TheCharmer womanizing playboy]] hearing voices from an idol singer in his TV.
36** Beyond surface differences and incompatibilities, the pilots are clones of fifteen individuals who were trying to help or hinder Project Ark (and towards the end, there was even some overlap between these groups), with the antagonistic antecessors being included as the program was meant to salvage as much raw human genetic material as it could, and they were among the only survivors of the nanomachine plague that destroyed the world at the time.
37* ReincarnationRomance: Zig-zagged. Sometimes, different iterations of the same characters repeat their relationships without any meddling, as with Natsuno and Miura or Okino and Takatoshi falling in love just like their counterparts, despite vast gulfs in perspective brought about by their growing up in completely different cultures and time periods from both their original selves and one another. Sometimes, they go off in completely different directions, with Juro and Iori being with different people than 426 and Morimura, or Shu and Tomi falling for Yuki and Nenji instead of each other, respectively (something that Ida even lampshades at one point). That said, trying to ''force'' this trope is almost strictly viewed as a negative thing. Juro is aware and initially resentful that Megumi doesn't ''really'' love him, just the Juro Izumi she knew, her obsession with getting him back drives her to do things even she admits are wrong, and their relationship only starts becoming healthier when she starts caring about him as his own person. And Ida's desperate desire to recreate Kisaragi and have her all for himself is what makes him one of the primary human antagonists for most of the story.
38* RippleEffectProofMemory: Subverted. Certain characters like Kurabe and Shinonome have storylines that look like they branch in multiple timelines, however, they can still remember details they end up learning at the end of a pathway and use it on a previous checkpoint to open up another path. It is implied that they just try different deviations from their routine during different days.
39* SayMyName: Whenever a unit dies they’re SO’s or friends always use this trope.
40* TomatoInTheMirror: Eventually, all protagonists realize they're clones. This is not counting other surprising identity reveals that certain characters find out about themselves before that point.
41* WildCard: The protagonists from 1985 (Nenji, Natsuno, and Yuki), who weren't heavily involved with the botched resistance attempts of previous loops due to the Command Key's existence in Sector 4 diverting the kaiju to destroy the other eras first. As relative unknowns, they tend to blindside the plots of antagonists from previous loops, sometimes by complete accident.
42[[/folder]]
43
44!!First Generation Pilots
45[[folder:Shared Tropes]]
46* CloseRangeCombatant: These Sentinels were designed with close combat in mind and lack the artillery options of the other generations. Their strikes hurt like hell though, and they make for very formidable tanks.
47* CripplingOverspecialization: First-Generation Sentinels were designed to be the most powerful robots ever made, and they largely succeeded on that front. The problem being that they ended up sitting ducks once the Deimos started to unleash massive numbers, and even worse, ''flying'' units, their unparalleled internal power leaving them little room for ranged weapons or crowd control. It's also very much true on the gameplay side of things: first gens will ''pulverize'' anything they get their hands on but rely almost entirely on EMP weapons and their allies to deal with the grunt hordes.
48* DualModeUnit: The First-Generation Sentinels have a Defense Mode which boosts defense in exchange for reducing their movement speeds to a crawl and a Limiter Removal that greatly boosts their speed and attack power in exchange for drastically decreasing their defense.
49* DrawAggro: The EMP armaments they can equip have the bonus feature of drawing affected enemies towards their location, be it to take the heat off of allies or bring in more enemies to clobber themselves.
50* FoeTossingCharge: The "Tackle" armament lets them charge forward instead of walking, damaging and knocking around any enemies in their path.
51* RapidFireFisticuffs: "Rush Attack" delivers a series of punches to the closest enemy, dealing extra hits per every upgrade to the ability. It's the Gen One Pilots' main form of offense given that it costs no EP and recharges quickly.
52[[/folder]]
53----
54[[folder:Nenji Ogata]]
55!Nenji Ogata (緒方 稔二 ''Ogata Nenji'')
56!!''[[BruiserWithASoftCenter Loyal Punk]]''
57
58[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nenji_ogata.png]]
59-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomokazuSeki (Japanese), Creator/BillyKametz (English)\
60\
61''"I don't give a shit about my limits. I love you, and that's why I gotta break 'em!"''
62\
63A juvenile delinquent who belies a compassionate and old-fashioned soul. He became famous among local delinquents during middle school due to his great courage and standing strong in fights. In his route, he finds himself living through a bizarre time loop, constantly being reset in the train station where he had once split off from Tomi, the girl he's developed feelings for.\
64In the final battle, he pilots the first-generation Sentinel No. 10.
65----
66* EightiesHair: Tomi could tell she was indeed in 1985 because of Nenji's pompadour.
67-->'''Tomi:''' ''(stifling a laugh)'' "Oh my god. It really ''is'' the 80s!"
68* AccidentalPervert: {{Invoked|Trope}}. When Natsuno screams upon finding BJ, Nenji ''barges'' into the changing room to see what happened. His annoyed murmur of how she was still dressed hints that he was actually hoping she managed to change out of her gym clothes first.
69* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: When he discovers that the train platform is just in his head, he starts treating the people on it, including Tomi, more rudely as they're not "real", but he eventually comes around during his last loop before he escapes.
70* AkashicRecords: During his route, he's stuck in a digital recreation of a train station platform that's made from a combination of his own memories and a Universal Control database, allowing him to interact with facsimiles of characters he's never met (or will ever meet) like Tetsuya Ida.
71* AlternateSelf: He is the latest clone made from Nenji Ogata, the latest CEO of Shikishima in 2188.
72* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Done twice to Tomi; the first time at the end of his story to protect Tomi and Natsuno from the kaiju, and the second time at the end of Wave 3-7, albeit done while connected to the other pilots, much to his chagrin.
73* ApocalypseMaiden: He was the original holder of the D-Code, the signal that would bring about the Deimos invasion. But at some point, the code got transferred from him over to a new host, Natsuno Minami.
74* AttackAttackAttack: His abilities lend to a very aggressive playstyle, with his main attack gaining power through successive hits and his abilities refreshing after killing a kaiju, letting Nenji keep plowing through enemies without stopping.
75* BabiesEverAfter: Implied to have at least two children with Tomi in the DistantFinale.
76* BloodKnight: In part due to his delinquent personality, Nenji is one of the most eager to fight against the Kaiju, and even outside of that frequently gets into fights (or tries to) with other characters, such as Takatoshi and Yuki.
77* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Behind his delinquent bravado, Nenji has a very profound sense of love and kindness for others. His relationship with Tomi is built off him being able to support her in times of stress and even ground her when she's thinking of doing something reckless (shifting back to 2025 without knowing the risks), and by the final battle he's very upfront about his love for her in a way that other characters struggle with throughout their respective stories. This kind side to him also justifies why he's friends with Miwako - one of the [[TheCutie sweetest]] characters in the game.
78* BuxomBeautyStandard: Expresses this in the epilogue, where he tactlessly implies that Tomi filling out akin to her 2188 progenitor all but obliterated his memory of her less-developed high school form.
79* CasanovaWannabe: His friends recount how when they were little, he proposed to ''every'' girl in their grade at least once. Tomi teasingly ''calls him'' a Casanova, and he's [[OldShame embarrassed]] to be reminded that he used to do that.
80-->"Wh-hey, I didn't mean it like that! Look, it was ''second grade'', I didn't know shit!"
81* CastingGag: He has an epic pompadour that makes him strongly resemble [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Josuke Higashikata]]. It is perhaps no surprise that the late Creator/BillyKametz, the English voice of Josuke, voices Nenji in the English dub of the game.
82* ChildhoodFriends: With Miwako, much to the surprise of Tomi who is herself one of Miwako's best friends.
83* ChivalrousPervert: If his attempt of [[{{Invoked}} Invoking]] AccidentalPervert above is anything to go by. Though when the chips are down, he proves he really does love Tomi, and goes into battle even while still recovering from BOL so that she can rest up in his place.
84* CrutchCharacter: His Pilot Skills and unlockable passives give new players a clear direction on what armaments they should use with him, resulting in a First-Generation Sentinel that will crash clean through the first smaller hordes of the first area with its enhanced Rush Attack combos and cut down larger targets with a uniquely upgraded Demolisher Blade. As enemy groups become larger, numbering in the dozens at times, in the later areas, he’s unable to deal with them effectively on his own (a successful Rush Attack can only land several single hits per use), and he can be quickly overwhelmed without support from his teammates.
85* CurbStompBattle: After a... misunderstanding, he attempts to attack an SIU investigator to protect Natsuno. He goes down in one blow.
86* TheDreaded: He's well known among other delinquents, with only the stupidest ones willing to pick a fight with him. Other students make sure to keep their distance from him.
87-->'''Yuki:''' "Built up a reputation as a tough guy, all the way back in middle school actually. Every delinquent around here knows who he is."
88* DumbassHasAPoint: He's the one to be suspicious of Yuki, who's transferring to Sakura High under odd circumstances. His concerns never get taken up by anyone though, nor does he actually realize why she's really there.
89-->'''Nenji:''' "Seems kinda weird if you ask me. A transfer at this time of year?"\
90'''Shu:''' "Maybe that's just how it happened for her."\
91'''Nenji:''' "Or maybe she's tryin' to pull some shit."\
92'''Shu:''' "Hey, just lay off already."
93* FaceOfAThug: He's the walking image of an 80s delinquent and is feared by punks like him. But those who get to know Nenji realize that he's a good guy behind his thuggish persona.
94* FlawedPrototype: He pilots the oldest of the Sentinels available to the cast, which is geared entirely towards big bursts of offense, but lacks defense and recovery options.
95* GenerationXerox: Like the original Nenji of 2188, he's the son of a wealthy Shikishima executive. But the similarities [[SubvertedTrope end there]]. The drastically different circumstances of the current Nenji's life mean he grows up to be a kinder and more just man.
96* GlassCannon: His First Generation Sentinel gets a powerful unique upgrade, the Hyper Condenser, to his already powerful Demolisher Blade ability, and his C'mon! Cmon! and That All You Got? pilot skills give him bonus Rush Attack power and cooldown reduction whenever he kills enemies, but without a powerful defensive ability like Takatoshi's Ceramic Composite Armor or the hefty cooldown reduction of Sekigahara's Forced Cooldown Device, he tends to be a sitting duck after using it, especially if he whiffs on a kill... and since using the Hyper Condenser jacks the Demolisher Blade's energy consumption way up, he's sometimes forced to activate Defense to recharge and regain access to it.
97* GrandTheftMe: Kengo Ogata, father of the original Nenji Ogata, was planning to have an AI recreation of himself take over Nenji's body once the Sectors were up and running. Luckily, it fails.
98* GroundhogDayLoop: His story arc has him revisiting the same train platform over and over again, starting with the same line from Tomi. This is revealed to be just Okino rewinding him back into a memory so he can find the Control Key.
99* HandsomeLech: He’s not a bad looker, and he comes from a rich family, but he has a reputation among the girls at his school for having proposed marriage to all of them while they were still elementary students, and his delinquent behavior and occasional dirty thoughts don’t help his chances with the ladies either.
100* HarmfulToMinors: When he was seven years old, Murimura tracked him down and shot him to inject him with nanomachines that would allow him to use a Sentinel.
101* HenpeckedHusband: The DistantFinale implies Tomi is the one who wears the pants in their family; she tells him that he's gonna have to look after their kids so she and Iori can catch up with the newly restored Miwako.
102* HotBlooded: Very. He strongly cares about the people he likes, and is more than happy to throw fists at even the slightest provocation.
103* HugeGuyTinyGirl: He's a tall and imposing punk who towers above most of the other leads. Meanwhile Tomi is the shortest of the female protagonists. This doesn't seem to stop the two.
104* IdiotHero: He's not the ''stupidest'' man, but he's not super introspective either and doesn't have a great knowledge base.
105** His first theory as to why he, Usami and Miwako are suddenly in a ruined city is that a Nuke hit the city, ignoring the fact that they were originally at the school and now they're suddenly downtown, they don't have any major injuries, and they somehow survived.
106** He ''really'' struggles to communicate what's going on while stuck in a time loop at the start of his story, since he [[GenreBlindness just hasn't seen the right movies or read the right books to fully understand what's happening, let alone relate it to other people]]. That's on top of just being generally bad at expressing himself anyway.
107* IGaveMyWord: Miwako describes him as not the kind to break promises.
108* ImStandingRightHere: Usami is quick to call him an idiot for thinking her wanting to talk to him is a pre-text for a LoveConfession, as if he wasn't there.
109* JapaneseDelinquents: He has the classic pompadour hairstyle and frequently gets into fights. Tomi makes fun of his haircut, calling him "Captain Pompadour."
110* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's brash, rude, confrontational, and possibly a bit perverted. However, he ultimately does show a nicer side to those he knows. While they're stuck in a deserted, wasted future hellscape, he foregoes food to keep the girls nourished with stuff he scavenges from vending machines and ruined stores, and Kisaragi is taken aback when Miwako reveals he's fought Wajima to protect people.
111* LonelyRichKid: He's the son of one of Shikishima's executives, and he's not shown to have many friends aside from Shu before the beginning of the game.
112* OddFriendship:
113** He and Shu have been pals since middle school, which is quite jarring given that the latter is a popular ladies man instead of a feared delinquent. This is explained as the two having fought gangs together back then, before Shu decided he wanted to reinvent his image.
114** Perhaps most shocking is that Nenji has been friends with Miwako since they were kids, something that surprises the other characters given that she's like an angel next to him.
115* OfficialCouple: With Tomi in the endgame. They even mention [[BabiesEverAfter having kids.]]
116* OpenMouthInsertFoot: During the finale sequence, he looks over Tomi's body and comments that she used to be flat and he's glad she filled out. Tomi goes from playfully flirting with him to storming off with her girl friends in 0 seconds flat, telling him to look after the kids.
117* PerpetualFrowner: He's almost never seen without a scowl on his face. It's most prominently dropped in the DistantFinale when he sees Tomi, Iori, and Miwako off and when he meets Wajima again.
118* RealMenHateSugar: Claims to be this when he, Usami and Miwako get flung into the ruined future, but this is later {{Implied}} to have been a lie meant to get them to eat his share of the food he's found.
119* RealMenWearPink: At one point in the story, a handkerchief is seen tied to the roof's fence in order to dry. Most of the characters think some girl tied it up, but it's actually Nenji's.
120-->'''Yuki:''' (''Giggling'') "That handkerchief is yours?"\
121'''Nenji:''' "Yeah? So what?"\
122'''Yuki:''' (''Giggling harder'') "I thought it was a girl's."\
123'''Nenji:''' "Are you ''trying'' to pick a fight with me?"\
124'''Yuki:''' "Oh, not ''me''. [[SarcasmMode Never]]."
125* RedeemingReplacement: The original Nenji Ogata was a RichBastard responsible for cutting funds to Project Ark, leading to Professor Morimura inadvertently starting the Nanomachine Plague through trading on the Black Market. Nenji might be a punk, but he's still a good person at heart. Somehow the Ida of 2188 is even worse than them both.
126* TheRival: He and Yuki have engaged in turf wars in the past, and he's sure not thrilled to see her transfer to his school.
127* ShaggyDogStory: Almost the entirety of his arc deals with Tsukasa Okino trying to find out who is the current holder of the Control Key by messing with his mind. It was Natsuno, but before he can find that out he and Hijiyama got shot by Yakushiji. It's implied that 426 was guiding her to rescue Ogata since he already tried to disable the control key in a past loop with horrific results, and wants to prevent Okino from doing the same mistakes he did and hurting Natsuno.
128* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: He's frequently mistaken for Tomi's boyfriend even before they get together in any capacity, leading to this from both of them.
129* SmallRoleBigImpact: The versions of him from previous loops don't even show onscreen, but as the original holders of the Control Key, they're the reason Sector 4 was attacked last during kaiju invasions, which is why he, Yuki, and Natsuno are never seen during those sequences.
130* SweetOnPollyOliver: Exploited by Okino in his "Kiriko Douji" disguise. Okino lures him under the guise of being a girl who wants to confess to him in order to knock him out and probe his mind for the location of the Deimos-Code, and Nenji can't help but comment on how attractive "she" looks. Unlike Hijiyama, Nenji seemingly never finds out that "Kiriko" was actually a boy.
131* {{Tsundere}}: He and Tomi's relationship is essentially back-and-forth Tsundere antics. When things look bad though, he'll drop any belligerence and show a sincere and affectionate side to her.
132* TheWorfEffect:
133** Takatoshi's prologue implies he managed to win the fight after he accidentally provoked Nenji, and although Takatoshi claims he "kicked like a horse", he doesn't seem that physically hurt.
134** Despite being one of the most physically capable of the protagonists, he gets knocked out real easily against an SIU agent when he tries to fight him. Understandably so, as Nenji is still a teenager trying to fight a fully grown adult, one who is likely both athletically fit and trained in hand-to-hand combat.
135* UnusualEyebrows: The outer tips of his eyebrows fork, giving them an almost serrated look.
136* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Played for laughs when his LoveConfession backfired since it was an inappropriate setting (they just finished Sentinel battle), not to mention the lines were open on all channels. Juro tries to comfort Nenji by saying he thought he was cool doing that, but Nenji says hearing that from him makes it worse.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Takatoshi Hijiyama]]
140!Takatoshi Hijiyama (比治山 隆俊 ''Hijiyama Takatoshi'')
141!!''[[FishOutOfTemporalWater Displaced Soldier]]''
142
143[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takatoshi_hijiyama.png]]
144-> '''Voiced by''': Takayuki Ishii (Japanese), Creator/KaijiTang (English)\
145\
146''"I live in service of my country. And the people I love."''
147\
148An honest and manly young man. He once mistook a boy named Okino for a girl due to the fact that he was cross-dressing, and has been teased by Okino for it. Although the situation was not all bad.\
149In the final battle, he pilots the first-generation Sentinel No. 12 shared with him by the original pilot Okino.
150----
151* AlternateSelf: He's the latest clone made from lieutenant Takatoshi Hijiyama, a subordinate of Major Juro Izumi, who lived in 2188.
152* AmbiguouslyBi: The game never gives him a clear label for his sexuality; while he ultimately falls in love with the male Tsukasa, he's shown attraction to multiple girls besides Okino's "Kiriko" identity including Ryoko. His feelings for Okino - before and after the Kiriko disguise is discarded - could be read as Takatoshi loving both men and women, or perhaps his [[ClosetKey suppressed gay feelings coming to light]] after thinking he liked girls.
153* ArmoredClosetGay: A lot of the angst around his attraction to Okino comes from the fact that they're both men, which Takatoshi mentally reminds himself of every time he feels anything for Okino.
154* BigBrotherInstinct: He's been by Keitaro's side ever since they were kids, the latter looking up to Takatoshi greatly.
155* BigGuyLittleGuy: The Big Guy to Tsukasa's Little Guy.
156* TheBigGuy: The most physically capable of the pilots. His Sentinel even boasts the highest base HP out of the First-Generation models.
157* BloodKnight: He gets noticeably excited mid-combat, happy to partake in the chance to defend everything he knows from giant killer robots. Not to mention how often he and Nenji seem to be looking to fight each other.
158-->''"A true soldier faces his foes head-on with pride. I couldn't ask a better chance at glory!"''
159* BruiserWithASoftCenter: He's a tall, well-built, fiercely patriotic wall of a man who will pummel anything that harms those he loves. Outside that though, he's a polite, soft-hearted, and somewhat simple-minded young man who is quite easy to fluster.
160* CannotTellALie: Halfway through his route, he has to distract Ms. Morimura to stall for Tsukasa. Hilariously however, he keeps backtracking his explanation, so Morimura quickly catches on.
161* CasualKink: Okino notices [[MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat via the sensors on his brain-probe]] that Hijiyama is actually sort of enjoying being tied up and at the mercy of his crush despite his protests, and [[TheTease playfully mocks him for it]].
162* ChildSoldier: Like Keitaro, he joined the military while in high school (voluntarily, as opposed to Keitaro who was drafted).
163* ChildhoodFriends: Growing up, he was close to the Miura siblings and Tamao. He and Keitaro remain staunch friends and allies even when stranded in the future together and have special perks in battle that benefit each other.
164* CloseRangeCombatant: Save for the anti-air flares, his inherited Sentinel has no long-range options despite how he had been training to use the projectile-centric Sentinel No. 19 back in his original sector.
165* CrazyJealousGuy: When he sees Okino "confess" to Nenji, his first instinct is to rush over and slug Nenji, knocking him out.
166-->"You don't just confess to another man's girl!!"
167* ComingOutStory: His personal plot arc revolves around him coming to terms with his attraction to the openly gay Okino.
168* TheDreaded: He picks up a reputation in the 80s for beating up punks and making off with the cash for survival. It's enough to give Wajima and his gang pause. Nenji affirms the same suspicion, only to actually give Takatoshi a meaningful fight.
169-->'''Cronie:''' "Wait, Wajima-san, I've heard of this guy. He's the one who's been snatchin' all the jackets!"\
170'''Wajima:''' "The hell? Wait... yeah. This guy's even wearing one of our uniforms!"\
171'''Takatoshi:''' "Oh, so you knew the guy that owned this? I don't have any relatives around; I'm basically homeless at the moment. [[BadassBoast So the clothes and the cash were a really big help. He was a generous guy, tell him I said thanks.]]"
172* DumbMuscle: His simple-mindedness is commented on frequently; the reason he even ends up in the 80s is because he challenged Ei after the latter warns him not to get caught in his time-shift.
173* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: When we first see him in 1945, he has a buzzcut befitting a soldier. One time jump and six months of homelessness later, his hair has grown out and looks wild.
174* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Comes from sector 5 (1945), as he gets caught in a temporal jump alongside Ei Sekigahara. This, alongside his notable physical strength as a former IJN soldier, means he's often targeted in physical fights by JapaneseDelinquents. Of course, that doesn't mean they tend to win said fights...
175* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Shortly after his arrival in 1985, Megumi comes across a starving Takatoshi and gives him some of her yakisoba pan. Ever since, he referred to her as his "yakisoba pan angel", but she seems to not remember this, and when they meet again, Megumi shoots him without acknowledging that they've met before.
176* GenerationXerox:
177** Like his original incarnation, he's a tough but soft-hearted military man who even falls in love with his own version of Okino. In the 2188 Takatoshi's final log, he laments not being able to protect those dear to him in the end and hopes that he'll be able to in a different life, something the current Takatoshi fulfills by helping everyone defeat the Deimos for good.
178** His rivalry with Nenji is unwittingly a nod to their 2188 selves; the Takatoshi of that era is responsible for shooting Nenji dead after their debate over the future of the colony escalates. Thankfully the present versions never go that far, and even show moments of understanding and camaraderie in between their fighting.
179* HiddenDepths: He reveals late in the battle story that he's actually read some of Miura's western science fiction novels and knows a bit about time travel and so on.
180* HonorBeforeReason: Around the time her arrived in the past, his starvation makes him consider digging through the trash for food, only to be appalled at the idea of digging through the trash like an animal and states he'd rather die.
181* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Going from 1945 to '85, he goes from decorated and pristine officer to an unkempt street punk surviving on scraps.
182* IronicName: One of the Kanji in his first name (俊) can be read as "excellence" or "genius"; the latter word is... [[DumbMuscle maybe not the most accurate]].
183* JapaneseSpirit: Embodies this trope more than anybody else in the cast, since he was born and raised in Japan at World War II, and was set to participate in the defense of the mainland. More than a few of his lines talk about the honor of fighting to protect his country and comrades.
184* LightningBruiser: Deploying Takatoshi is like the mech-equivalent of a linebacker. His Pilot Skills grant extra mobility and defense-related buffs that let him power through enemies, and he's equipped with the close-ranged power characteristic of First-Gen Sentinels.
185* LostFoodGrievance: As Wajima and his gang learned [[CurbstompBattle the hard way]], Hijiyama does not take losing his yakisoba pan lightly.
186* LoveAtFirstSight: As shown in Keitaro's prologue, Takatoshi was head over heels for Okino/"Kiriko" the moment he saw her, and proceeds to act extra courteous when introducing himself to them.
187* MachoMasochism: When Okino warns that unlocking limiters during the final battle will cause a hefty durability hit, Takatoshi proves himself every inch the Imperial Japanese soldier by boasting that an Imperial son wouldn't shrink from danger or death. He also repeatedly suggests throwing himself into harms' way in other engagements.
188* ManlyMan: The persona he's crafted is all about exuding strength and reliability, from his physical power to his fiercely patriotic attitude. It also makes it all the more hilarious when someone like Okino pokes holes in it.
189* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: Takatoshi is a ripped ManlyMan with a patriotic streak, whereas Tsukasa is an androgynous WholesomeCrossdresser who prefers working with his brains and not his brawn.
190* MoralityPet: Ends up being one for Tsukasa; while the latter does still keep a lot of secrets from Takatoshi - and wastes no time with the teasing and cat-and-mouse antics - he ultimately still places all of his trust and preparations on Takatoshi's shoulders, including granting him a new Sentinel and the truth about their simulated world. It goes to show that Tsukasa, for all the questionable things he does, ultimately has a good heart, and that the love he and Takatoshi come to share is real.
191* MotivationalLie: Even after learning the AwfulTruth that he was never a real soldier and that Earth is long gone, he insists on identifying himself as a Japanese denizen who is fighting for his homeland, even going so far as to entertain the idea of using the Sentinels against the Allied Forces despite America not existing anymore. While framed as a stubborn refusal to fully understand or acknowledge what’s going on around him, this mindset prevents him from being intimidated by the seemingly endless swarms of kaiju as his fellow pilots sometimes are, or giving into despair like Okino does after calculating that it’s mathematically impossible for them to fight off their enemies.
192* NiceGuy: While a bit hot-headed at times, Takatoshi is generally a very polite and compassionate man. Tsukasa specifically likes him because he's so honest - if simple too - and Takatoshi always has the needs of his loved ones on mind, treating Keitaro like a brother and equal even with the latter's poor self-esteem and showing compassion even to those who've wronged him, like taking pity on Ei whose mind is coming apart.
193* OfficialCouple: With Okino at the end of the game. Though the current stage of their relationship isn't clear by the game, it's confirmed by the official databook.
194* OneManArmy: Even when he's not driving a Sentinel, he's an impressive fighter, being able to take on Wajima and his group of thugs after they ruin [[LostFoodGrievance his Yakisoba Pan]], and after ''that'' he's still able to go toe-to-toe with Nenji and win. After all, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he's a trained and battle-tested soldier and they're just a bunch of weekend-warrior delinquents]].
195* PatrioticFervor: Like Miura, he's a soldier in the Japanese army in 1945, but he's not as curious and intellectual as his friend. He repeatedly expresses a desire to bring the Sentinel back to his time and use it to prevent the Japanese defeat in World War II after reading about the outcome of the war in the history books; Keitaro shares many of his opinions but at least reflects on seeing his nation rebuild.
196* ReincarnationRomance: In a sense with Okino; he's a quite different person than his original 2188 identity, but he loves Okino just as much as his original did.
197* StraightGay: Part of his arc consists of him coming to terms with his feelings for Okino. Of course, there is some ambiguity about this since he fell in love while thinking Okino was a woman. Their 2188 selves are rather less ambiguous about their relationship, however, with Okino stating in no uncertain terms that they are lovers (the words 愛する人 and 愛してる are used, which are extremely direct and unambiguous).
198* SweetOnPollyOliver: It was LoveAtFirstSight when he first met Tsukasa in his Kiriko Douji disguise. To his chagrin and denial, those feelings failed to leave after he found out "Kiriko" was actually a boy.
199* TeethClenchedTeamwork: He and Nenji pick up a very combative rivalry with each other starting when Takatoshi - in his prologue - beats up the gang Nenji was about to fight than fights him to a standstill. Every instance between them since then involves the two bickering and having testosterone feuds, requiring someone else like Juro or Shu to step in.
200* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Yakisoba pan; it was a given to him by Megumi when she saw that he was alone and starving, and he develops almost a complex for it and can't get enough of the stuff. Students at the 1985 high school complain that it's become almost impossible to buy at the school cafeteria because he keeps buying it all up first thing in the morning.
201-->"Noodles stir-fried in sauce, enfolded in sweet bread... I don't trust much in this postwar world. But if there's one exception, it's my yakisoba-pan!"
202* TransparentCloset: The only person who doesn't cotton on to how bad Takatoshi has it for Okino is Takatoshi, and only then through [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday extreme effort]].
203* TroubledChild: Keitaro describes him as having been "a mess" before joining the army. One interaction in the 2nd Area suggests Takatoshi used to pull fire alarms as a prank.
204* UnreliableNarrator: He and Miura remember his first encounter with Okino very differently with Hijiyama recalling himself as being more upfront with his attraction towards him and having these compliments reciprocated. Miura's version of the events have Takatoshi barely able to speak to the disguised genius, whose only response to his fumbling was to call him "funny".
205* VibrantOrange: His outfit is distinctly orange, signifying his hot-blooded and proud attitude.
206* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite the Hijiyama of one loop ago allegedly having been accidentally killed and reduced to A.I form along with Tomi Kisaragi, Keitaro Miura and Tamao Kurabe, we never see said A.I form in the game or where / if it was even utilized.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Ei Sekigahara]]
210!Ei Sekigahara (関ヶ原 瑛 ''Sekigahara Ei'')
211!!''[[AmnesiacHero Amnesiac]] on [[ClearMyName the Run]]''
212
213[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ei_sekigahara.png]]
214-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/DaisukeNamikawa (Japanese), Creator/KyleMcCarley (English)\
215\
216''"My past is [over]. But as for our future... our survival... this is only the beginning."''
217\
218A boy who awakens next to the corpse of an unknown woman, and who is relentlessly being pursued by men in black clothes. A message from his past self reads, “Escape from this world.”\
219In the final battle, he pilots the first-generation Sentinel No. 11.
220----
221* ActionHero: He's already a trained combatant unlike most of the other pilots and carries a gun with him in every scene, and those scenes featuring him have many more violent encounters like android attacks where Ei has to use his gun
222* AlternateSelf: He's the latest clone made from Ei Sekigahara, an assassin sent by Renya Gouto to dispose of Professor Morimura in 2188.
223* AmnesiacHero: Starts his prologue waking up in an alley with no memory of who he is or what life he's lived up to that point. It turns out to be a function of the tainted nanomachines in his head.
224* BadassBiker: He travels 1985 aboard a very sleek, high-tech motorcycle, which to Iori just screams "cool and mysterious".
225* BigBrotherInstinct: ('Little Brother?') Ryoko's prologue shows him being quite hostile towards Ida, seeing that Ida is already manipulating Ryoko and looking defeated when he can't sway Ryoko from choosing to fight in a Sentinel. He chooses to join the program too once he hears her mind is made up.
226-->'''Ei:''' "Ever since we were kids... Wherever you went, I followed. My big sister, Ryoko... Don't you remember?..."\
227'''Ryoko:''' "Ei-kun...?"
228* BigDamnHeroes: He saves Iori and Miwako from being assaulted by [[GoldfishPoopGang Wajima and his cronies]] by promptly beating them up [[SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat revealing he's an amateur boxer in the process]].
229* CoolBike: He has a future bike built by Shikishima in his era that has its own AI and several other futuristic features, such as voice recognition, biometric authentication system, and being able to self-drive back to registered drivers.
230* CrazyPrepared: In anticipation of his amnesia taking over, he takes a lot of cautionary steps to make sure he can still help everyone once his mind is gone. He records several messages for Miura/BJ and Sector 4's messaging system to hold onto, which is what Ei receives in the beginning of his route. And he seeks Tsukasa and Hijiyama who create a backup of whatever memories he does have left before DD-426 erases then. Then entrusts the help of several other compatibles like Yuki and Iori to relay all this information to him once his mind resets.
231* DatingCatwoman: A uniquely inverted example; Fuyusaka and Sekigahara were never at opposing sides at any point before or after they began dating. However, the original incarnations of themselves from 2188 (with Fuyusaka's original being Professor Chihiro Morimura) were adversaries. The Sekigahara of 2188 most notably is responsible for Professor Morimura's assassination, and viewed his mission as delivering an act of justice.
232* DirtyCoward: How Ei sees ''himself''; in all of his appearances that take place before his own route, Ei is secretly investigating Sector 0 and whether he can save his declining mind by jumping loops, which of course means leaving the current loop to be destroyed by the Deimos. Even with that reason, he still derides himself for putting himself before others, an insecurity that becomes more pronounced in contrast to Iori's selfless choice to stay behind and protect everyone. It's partly why he thinks his Sentinel would be better in her hands than his.
233* TheDulcineaEffect: Meeting Iori, he barely gets a second to actually get to know her courtesy of his race to save his memories. Yet he still goes out of his way to keep her safe even when it wouldn't benefit him, like defending her from Wajima's gang. And when he senses his mind is going to disappear soon, he offers her to join him in jumping loops to be reborn after the Deimos destroy her era, a desire that gets dashed when he learns from Morimura how the [[DestructiveTeleportation process really works]]. It's still telling that he'd offer her something like that.
234* EasilyForgiven: Hijiyama lets go of his grudge against Ei stranding him in the 1980s once he sees how badly DD-426 is affecting his mind.
235* {{Expy}}: To Kyle Reese from ''Franchise/TheTerminator'', being a brooding and cool-headed time traveler coming to the aid of a girl from the past who he falls in love with. Not to mention a BadassBiker. In an ironic twist, his predecessor from 2188 was the assassin coming after that era's Chihiro Morimura, not protecting her like Ei does with Iori.
236* FirstNameBasis: Ryoko calls him "Ei-kun" at the start of her route to signify their familial bond. Iori also calls him "Ei-kun" not long before confessing her feelings to him in her route.
237* {{Foil}}: His story involving amnesia and manipulated memories parallel those of Juro and Ryoko which involve the same, however, Ei is successful at reconstructing his original self and regaining all his memories.
238* FrameUp: On the receiving end. He was initially believed by Ryoko Shinonome to be 426, the AI that was claimed to cause the defense line to collapse in Sector 2 (2064) by cutting communications and taking over Units 13, 14 and 15, due to the access logs in her mech. He himself denies this. The truth is that he fought alongside her and Izumi in Unit 15, and the real culprit was Ida, who tricked Shinonome into injecting the code by telling her it would improve the combat abilities of the Sentinels. She injected the code in Unit 15 instead of her own, which explains the logs.
239* FriendlessBackground: He mentions to Iori in her route that he had a hard time in middle school before befriending Ryoko, and that he never gave any thought to love before meeting Iori.
240* GenerationXerox: Ultimately subverted; the original Ei Sekigahara was cold and pragmatic like the current Ei, but taken to a completely sociopathic degree. Ei, despite sharing many of his original's traits, is able to remain a kind person at heart. And fittingly, his relationship with the current Chihiro Morimura, Iori, is completely flipped from their original counterparts.
241* GeniusBruiser: He's quick-witted and good at brawling even out of a Sentinel. Notably he's the only First Gen pilot who doesn't fall under DumbMuscle.
242* GoodIsNotSoft:
243** Attempting to investigate Megumi and her actions, he breaks into Juro's house to hold her at gunpoint. And when Juro stands between the two, Ei uses his gun's stun function on him, leaving a distressed Megumi rushing to Juro's side. This is perhaps the most extreme Ei gets through the story.
244** He fully intends to kill Ms. Morimura when he learns what Operation Aegis is. But then he realizes that she's a product of Universal Control, meaning she'll continue to exist in the next loop while he and the other Compatibles only continue to exist through data copies. So he relents.
245* HonorBeforeReason: The 2188 version of Ei goes through with his job to assassinate Professor Morimura even after the Earth is destroyed. Even though he won't receive any payment and will jeopardize the Ark Project, he kills Professor Morimura anyways due to his obligation as a professional assassin as well as mete out justice to the woman who (inadvertently) destroyed humanity.
246* IWorkAlone: One of his Pilot Skills grants bonus stats if he's positioned with no allies nearby, allowing him to thrive by going off to do his own thing.
247* JustAMachine: Averted in his own time, where everyone else treated Sentinel 15's A.I. as a tool, but he went out of his way to bond with the consciousness of Miura inside of it.
248* KickTheDog: In a hurry to pursue Okino, he allowed Takatoshi to get swept up in his shift, and then ditched him once they arrived in 1985, leaving the young soldier to almost starve to death due to being poor and homeless in Sector 4.
249* LikeBrotherAndSister: He sees Ryoko as a sisterly figure, although it's been strained of late because Ryoko thinks he's 426 and the person who released DD-426 virus, sabotaging their fight against the kaiju and leading to Ida's death.
250* TheMentor: Since it was originally his, Ei gives Iori a crash course on how to use her Sentinel's multitude of armaments once they begin fighting alongside each other.
251* MistakenForRomance: At one point, Iori Fuyusaka believed Ryoko Shinonome was his girlfriend after seeing their emotional closeness during a time jump, but he quickly clarifies their relationship: he thinks of Ryoko as his big sister since she took care of him when they were younger, and thus he wants her to be happy.
252* MySisterIsOffLimits: Even though he and Ryoko are NotBloodRelated, he hints at getting defensive towards Renya when he and Ryoko briefly dated during middle school.
253* NameAmnesia: He wakes up not even remembering his name, only jogging the memory upon finding a file with his name on it nearby.
254* PerpetualFrowner: Good luck counting the times he ever cracks a smile. Though he does lighten up on this during certain moments with Iori.
255* OfficialCouple: With Iori in the endgame.
256* QuestForIdentity: A large chunk of his story is finding out who he is and why he ended up in the past.
257* RedeemingReplacement: The Ei Sekigahara of 2188 was a hitman who assassinated the original Chihiro Morimura. The current Ei, while a bit distant and pragmatic, is ultimately a good guy. This is taken further by the fact that he's the one investigating Chihiro's death rather than being the one to have killed her.
258* ShipTease: It's never quite as [[TheStoic apparent]] from his side, but he does show a growing fondness for Iori that hints to something deeper, looking out for her in his own way. When he wakes up with all of his memories gone, he does still feel something when he sees a picture of her in her handbook.
259-->"Her face does look familiar, but I can't remember how I know her... It's uncanny though, it's almost as if she's ''important'' to me. In one way or another..."
260* TheStoic: He's able to remain calm even through the most harrowing situations, being able to approach even his amnesia with a composed attitude.
261* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: During Iori's story route, when he shows up and saves her from Wajima and his gang, Wajima complains that he fights like a boxer, with Sekigahara, who mostly fights with his phaser in his own and other stories, offhandedly admits that he ''is'' a trained boxer. This doesn't come up before or afterwards, though it does at least mean all three pilots of First Generation Sentinels are also hand-to-hand combatants out of the mech.
262* SugarAndIcePersonality: He's the [[TheStoic cool-headed]] and pragmatic ActionHero of the group who keeps himself withdrawn most of the time. Around those he cares about though, he takes on a very gentle demeanor; key examples including Ryoko (his sibling-surrogate), Iori (his LoveInterest), and BJ/"Miura" (one of his closest friends).
263* SuperPrototype: He notes that the First-Generation Sentinel he's been given for the final battle has been heavily modified compared to the base model. Gameplay-wise, it can use missiles like Nenji's No. 10, has access to both types of EMP armaments like No. 12, and has a unique Forced Cooling Device that reduces the waiting time between ability uses.
264* TakeUpMySword: Enchanted by her courage and goodness, he bequeaths his original Sentinel to Iori when it looks like his DD-426 infection will make him incapable of piloting it.
265* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: His Sentinel was the source of DD-426 spreading to the other Sentinels, resulting in him, Ryoko and Juro all being infected by the memory-altering sickness. Having been mislead by Ida, Ryoko spends much of her route under the assumption that Ei is being controlled by 426 and hunts him down with the intent to kill.
266[[/folder]]
267
268!! Second Generation Pilots
269[[folder:Shared Tropes]]
270* JackOfAllStats: They're considered the "all-rounder" Sentinels, having all manner of tools for damaging enemies and controlling space, with individual pilots having light specializations they lean toward.
271* TheTurretMaster: All Gen Two pilots can deploy a Sentry Gun that automatically fire at nearby enemies.
272[[/folder]]
273
274----
275
276[[folder:Juro Kurabe]]
277!Juro Kurabe (鞍部 十郎 ''Kurabe Juro'')
278!!''[[{{Otaku}} Kaiju Buff]]''
279[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/juro_kurabe.png]]
280-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/HiroShimono (Japanese), Creator/ChrisHackney (English)\
281\
282''"A kaiju attacked, like in that movie. So we'll do what we have to do: get in the robots and fight."''
283\
284A 16-year-old boy who attends Sakura High School. He loves movies and watches a film of some sort every day. He feels an odd sense of discomfort in his daily life, until one day a giant robot unexpectedly appears.\
285In the final battle, he pilots the second-generation Sentinel No. 13.
286----
287* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Pilots the #13 Sentinel. Said mech was infected by the DD-426 virus, which resulted in his memory loss.
288* AlternateSelf: He's the latest clone of Major Juro Izumi, who lived in 2188. He also has an adult counterpart from two loops ago that is also known as 426, a terrorist leader.
289* AmnesiacHero: Megumi's prologue shows that Juro Kurabe used to be Juro Izumi, until overusing his Sentinel caused the loss of his identity (later revealed that his Sentinel was infected by DD-246, which spread to him and wracked his brain).
290* AmnesiacLover: Going by the bits shown of 2025, Juro Izumi was quite close to Megumi. But now that Izumi doesn't exist anymore, Juro doesn't have the same depth of memories of his time with Megumi that she does. Though he does still feel strongly for her. Most of her route involves her efforts in trying to make him remember her.
291-->'''Tomi:''' "No way... So he really is a different person at this point. Does that mean he doesn't remember you?..."\
292'''Megumi:''' "..."\
293'''Tomi:''' "What now? Are we supposed to just give up on him?"\
294'''Megumi:''' "I could ''[[SuddenlyShouting NEVER]]'' do that! I'll never... give up on him... I can't..." (''BrokenTears'')
295* CantStayNormal: The personality of Juro Kurabe was designed to be as ordinary a high-school boy you could get, far from the ActionHero Juro Izumi was. But when it's clear the Deimos are coming for his new era and Juro's memories as Izumi are being scrounged up, he has no choice but to pilot his Sentinel once more.
296-->'''Megumi:''' "You still plan on using [Juro], don't you. You can't, I won't let you. (...) Please, let him be free of the Sentinel..."\
297'''Renya:''' "...As of now, I can't promise anything. He's the only one able to fight."
298* CrazyJealousGuy: Downplayed; ironically in the same scene where he gets on Megumi's case about being too close together at school, he starts looking bothered when it appears Megumi is asking Shu to meet after school. She takes note.
299-->'''Megumi:''' "Does that bother you?"\
300'''Juro:''' "N-No. Bye." (''Runs off'')\
301'''Megumi:''' "I see..."
302* DeathOfPersonality: A rather complicated case.
303** Originally, Juro Kurabe was called Juro Izumi, but exposure to virus DD-426 fried his brain, forcing his caretakers to rewrite his personality to the current Juro Kurabe. Megumi ''tries'' to get Fluffy to recreate "her" Juro, but it proves impossible for the cat; the damage was too extensive.
304** And then there's 426, a completely different Juro Izumi from two loops ago who takes over Kurabe's mind (after Kurabe makes contact with the android Erika Aiba) and implants some of his memories inside his brain through an artificial intelligence posing as Kurabe's "best friend" Kyuta Shiba, although it is eventually revealed to be a subversion since 426 was actually trying to stabilize Kurabe's personality.
305* DecoyProtagonist: {{Downplayed}}; while he's front and center on the boxart and title screen, he has no more focus than anyone else in the cast. His story ''is'' one of the most important since it dives into the idea of AlternateSelf and his past ties into his role as both a Sentinel pilot ''and'' a new version of 426. He has more story locks than usual as a result, but Juro ultimately shares equal screen time with the rest of the Sentinel pilots and is no more important than anyone else.
306* TheDeterminator: Ei reveals that Juro Izumi stayed in his Sentinel way beyond the point when Brain Overload takes hold, all to protect Megumi and her city. When he comes out, the brain damage from the Overload begins to take hold of him, and his personality starts to fade while he [[DiedInYourArmsTonight lays in Megumi's arms]]
307* DistractedByTheSexy: One of his stated reasons for not wanting Megumi in his house is his [[HormoneAddledTeenager hormones going wild]] having a pretty girl living with him.
308-->"C'mon, we're a boy and a girl... Alone together... Puberty exists. Are you ''trying'' to torture me?"
309* DoppelgangerGetsSameSentiment: He is aware that Megumi only loves the "Juro Izumi" she knew in her own time, not himself, and resents it, especially since he feels more than once that many other characters are trying to force a DeathOfPersonality on him.
310* FakeMemories: In order to stabilize his identity as Juro "Kurabe", Morimura had to implant him with fabricated memories to ease him into his new life. Then 426 latches onto his nanomachines too and starts doing his own tampering.
311* ForgotTheCall: He's completely oblivious to the fact that he's a Sentinel pilot on account of his personality having to be reconstructed. As his story progresses though, he slowly eases back into his role as a pilot, and is able to recount details about Sentinels and the nature of the setting that helps out his allies.
312* FutureBadass: The Juro Izumi from two loops ago ends up becoming a grizzled rebel leader. This also seems to extend to present Kurabe, with Megumi describing his as becoming "rugged" in only five years after leaving the simulation. This seems genetically justified considering the original Juro Izumi from 2188 was a military major.
313* FutureMeScaresMe: He's horrified learning about the things the previous Juro Izumi did as an adult, notably ''putting down their friends as teenagers''. Having seen Megumi in that memory, he becomes scared that he might hurt her if the dreams he's having keep up and opts to keep his distance for her sake.
314* InsecureLoveInterest: He comes to develop feelings for Megumi during her time staying with him, but he takes notice of the fact that she's still grieving over Juro Izumi and is projecting their time together onto Kurabe, and the two can't interact without that detail hanging over them.
315-->"Why do I have this sinking feeling? It's like... the one Yakushiji has feelings for isn't ''me''... it's... Izumi..."
316* JackOfAllStats: He's designed to be the most flexible pilot in terms of armaments and stats, able to provide a lot of damage and utility to a team, and being very self-sustainable thanks to his stats passively getting huge gains.
317* TheLostLenore: Megumi and Juro Izumi were clearly in love before he went to fight the kaiju in her era. Now that version of him is gone and can't come back, leaving her in grief and now co-existing with a new Juro that can't remember their time together.
318* LoveConfession: Gives one to Megumi, despite not being the Juro she knew him formerly as.
319* MistakenForGay: At one point, Iori thought that he might be in a relationship with Shu, much to his embarrassment.
320* NiceGuy: Through it all, he manages to be a caring and polite guy. It's no wonder so many characters like Megumi and Shu are rally toward him.
321* OfficialCouple: With Megumi in the endgame.
322* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Juro Izumi seemingly took down countless kaiju with his Sentinel in the battle of 2025, enduring unrevivable amounts of Brain Overload to keep Megumi's city safe. All we see, from her perspective, is the aftermath where his Sentinel lies against a collapsed building with one of its arms torn off, and he comes out and succumbs to the Brain Overload.
323* {{Otaku}}: He's a big fan of HumongousMecha and {{Kaiju}} movies. This is not coincidental.
324-->'''Juro:''' "Can you blame me? Giant robots, fights in the city; I was on the edge of my seat."\
325[...]\
326'''Shiba:''' "You and your giant robots..."
327* PersonalityRemnant: Even though his memories as Juro Izumi are mostly gone, he still is a natural at piloting a Sentinel and can dole out useful advice for his fellow pilots. Tomi even wonders if this is somehow Izumi's doing.
328-->'''Tomi:''' "Hey uh... How exactly do you know all this stuff? You ''sure'' you're not Juro Izumi in there?"\
329'''Juro:''' "I'm sure. But I know him, and I know what we're up against."
330* ProtagonistPowerUpPrivileges: His Pilot Skills swell his stats in ways that are highly convenient to the player, boosting his parameters the larger the strike team is, the more kaiju there are, and when the terminal is damaged enough. The ''Restored Memories'' skill just gives him a flat buff across all parameters so long as it's turned on. Combined with how his ''Movie Addiction'' skill reduces his armament cooldown times if he participates in consecutive battles, and the diverse set of weaponry packaged with Second-Generation Sentinels, and you have a pilot who can fit into and thrive in any team for almost every situation.
331* RaisedByGrandparents: It's implied that Granny Tamao is his primary caretaker. At least that's what the [[FakeMemories memories he was given]] have him believe.
332* ReplacementGoldfish: PlayedWith; even though he and Juro Izumi are functionally different people, Megumi still unconsciously treats Juro Kurabe like she would with the former even though he doesn't remember all their time together. Her arc ultimately comes down to accepting that Izumi is gone and she needs to love and appreciate Juro Kurabe as his own, different person rather than cling to who he was.
333* RippleEffectProofMemory: His storyline branches a lot, but he can still remember certain plot threads that he learned in one timeline to use elsewhere.
334* SecondLove: For Megumi... sort of; she's in love with the Juro Izumi of this loop and spends most of her story attempting to restore Juro Kurabe's memories of her, but eventually comes to terms with the fact that Izumi isn't coming back and falls for Kurabe instead.
335* SeriousBusiness: PlayedForLaughs; he gets uncharacteristically threatening when Shiba provokes him by almost spoiling a manga chapter.
336-->'''Juro:''' "Last week was a real cliffhanger. I'm dying to know what happens next."\
337'''Shiba:''' "Well then, allow me to ''explain!'' After all hell breaks loose, the main character just-"\
338'''Juro:''' ''([[TranquilFury With zero inflection]])'' "''Stop right there''. One more word, and you're going on my shitlist."\
339'''Shiba:''' "Hehe."
340* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: He's not thrilled having it look like Megumi is his partner despite all the signs pointing to the contrary. Not necessarily because he doesn't like her, though. Just that he doesn't want word to get around because it's a bad look in their era to be living together that young.
341-->(''Placing chopsticks for dinner'') "Heh, it's almost like we're newlyweds... [[NoJustNoReaction Okay, no]], I am ''not'' following that train of thought."
342* SickeninglySweethearts: He and Megumi are ''incredibly'' lovey-dovey with each other after they get together and flirt every chance they get. 426 in his "Fluffy" form annoyedly lampshades how saccharine their interactions are.
343* TomatoInTheMirror: Juro Kurabe eventually realizes he's actually Juro Izumi after some investigating. He also realizes Kyuta Shiba is a part of him instead of a separate entity that actually exists as his classmate.
344* TrademarkFavouriteFood: According to Megumi, it's Hamburg Steak. While he's concerned about the fact that they lived together getting out and getting them in trouble, he doesn't deny it.
345* UnabashedBMovieFan: The dub makes him overly fond of sci-fi movies, including lower-budget ones that Shu describes as "not for casuals".
346[[/folder]]
347
348[[folder:Iori Fuyusaka]]
349! Iori Fuyusaka (冬坂 五百里 ''Fuyusaka Iori'')
350!!''[[TheCutie Earnest Dreamer]]''
351[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iori_fuyusaka.png]]
352-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/AtsumiTanezaki (Japanese), Creator/AllegraClark (English)\
353\
354''"I may be just a schoolgirl. But now... I'm a schoolgirl with a giant robot!"''
355\
356A regular, cheerful high school student who tends to get along with others. While her grades are average, the balance between the subjects she passes and the subjects she fails is generally pretty intense. Lately, she has been having strange dreams and has not been able to sleep. She develops a crush on Ei Sekigahara after a chance first encounter.\
357In the final battle, she pilots the second-generation Sentinel No. 15 given to her by the original pilot Ei.
358----
359* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Ei being a brooding, darkly-clad loner - who outright admits that he was an assassin - doesn't deter her attraction to him; it seems to be a draw for her if anything.
360* AlternateSelf: She's the latest clone made from the genetic data of Professor Morimura, a leading nanomachine researcher who lived in 2188.
361* AudienceSurrogate: Iori is the first character the player will control, introducing everyone to the intricate, winding plot. From beginning to end, she frequently asks the more simple questions compared to the other pilots, constantly surprised the further it goes and trying to keep up. Her story is also the easiest to complete compared to any of the other pilots.
362* BadassAdorable: Being the adorable NiceGirl that she is doesn't stop her from being an effective pilot.
363* BigEater: A good chunk of her route is spent sampling local foods with Tomi and Miwako. Because of how the dialogue prompts loop if you miss a progression cue, the three of them could potentially devour hundreds of hot dogs together in one afternoon.
364* BodyBackupDrive: In Ryoko's route, Ryoko discovers an ampule and medical records that suggest someone is transferring memories into Iori to overwrite her personality with someone else's. Iori learns herself from Ms. Morimura that she was intended to be a backup for the latter, but the experiment for it was abandoned because Morimura's Sentinel capabilities couldn't be transferred, meaning overwriting Iori [[AllForNothing would be pointless]].
365* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Iori is the gentle, mundane girl to the mysterious, broody Ei.
366* ChildhoodFriends: She, Natsuno, and Miwako were friends back in elementary school.
367* CombatMedic: Her Sentinel has the ''Repair Emitter'' as an unlock, which can heal Sentinels in a given radius over a set amount of time. This is an extremely rare kind of ability as it can restore Sentinel HP without the aid of a terminal Meta-Skill or the pilot getting out of their mech for a time.
368* CutenessProximity: She's very eager to see the cat that's been hanging around the school, and starts using babytalk when she meets it.
369* TheCutie: Very kind and sweet to everyone, and elicits a lot of protective feelings from her fellow pilots.
370* DamselInDistress: At the end of Ei's route, a roboticized Ida takes Iori hostage so that he can get Ei to cooperate with him. Ei walks into the SIU office to find Ida holding her at gunpoint.
371* DatingCatwoman: A uniquely inverted example; Fuyusaka and Sekigahara were never at opposing sides at any point before or after they began dating. However, the original incarnations of themselves from 2188 (with Fuyusaka's original being Professor Chihiro Morimura) were adversaries. Fuyusaka's pining for Sekigahara and their eventual official couple status is fairly ironic considering 2188 Sekigahara was responsible for murdering 2188 Professor Morimura.
372* {{Determinator}}: When her heart is set on something, she'll put her all into trying to achieve it, be it food, love, or saving the world from robots. This is demonstrated in her relationship with Ei; even though she barely knows him and can see the signs of his dangerous life, she's still set on getting to know him and profess her attraction to him. Tomi is taken aback by how far she's willing to go for the sake of a crush.
373-->"I know our ways of life are worlds apart. It may be dangerous. It may be stupid. But I can't stop the way I feel."
374* DitzyGenius: Her bio states that she excels and fails in specific classes, implying that she's bright but very unfocused. This lines up with the prowess of her predecessor, the original Chihiro Morimura who designed Project Ark.
375* FlowersOfFemininity: She always has two white flowers nested on the sides of her hair, further accentuating her sweet nature.
376* GirlOfMyDreams: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. Juro keeps having a dream involving her. She herself has had at least one dream involving him. However, their relationship remains completely platonic and they gain different love interests in their respective stories.
377* GirlyGirl: She's designed with classic Shojo protagonists in mind; she dresses cute and feminine, likes talking about boys, and her chapters are largely slice-of-life-focused with her hanging out with Tomi and Miwako and spending the whole time girl-talking.
378* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: One of the sweetest protagonists, with fluffy, platinum-blonde hair to match.
379* HappilyAdopted: Morimura kidnapped her from Sector 1 and set her up with the Fuyasaka household to both protect her from the kaiju and to have her close at hand for her BodySurf scheme. Even after learning this, Iori loves her adoptive parents so much that she refuses the chance to escape to the next loop with Ei for the sake of protecting them.
380* HeavySleeper: She seems to have a bad habit of falling asleep during class, and won't wake up even if the teacher calls on her. This is actually due to the bad dreams, or more accurately, recalling previous memories of Chihiro Morimura from two loops ago as an effect of being injected with nanomachines.
381* HiddenDepths: When helping Juro get into the Nurse's office in his route, she explains that she crafted an excuse about an injured student to secure the key, recalling it with a notably mischievous pride. Turns out someone sweet like her has a devious side too.
382* LightIsGood: Being one of the kindest protagonists, her color palette is made up of very soft, desaturated tones, ranging from her platinum-blonde hair, her clean school uniform, to the white flowers she accessorizes with.
383* LivingMacguffin: She's the newest version of Chihiro Morimura, the scientist in charge of Project Ark. This means Iori possesses the latter's biometric ID and can both shift unconsciously and access files related to the most heavy revelations in the game, something Renya takes advantage of to learn as much as he can about the setting's lore.
384* LoveConfession: Delivers one to Ei after he rescues her, Miwako and Tomi from Wajima and his gang.
385* MeetCute: She bumps into Ei on her way to school, and later that day, she notes how attractive he was and how her heart pounds when she thinks about him. Miwako even says it must be LoveAtFirstSight. Of course, the irony of this is that she ended up falling in love with the man who killed her original self in the real world.
386* MoralityPet: Ei develops a fondness for her throughout the game, being able to lighten some of his stoicism when she's around for him. And he's taken aback when she finally professes her love for him. Notably, she's able to prevent him from firing at Ms. Morimura, even after the two learn just how badly Morimura's tampered with Iori's life.
387-->'''Ei:''' "Despite having lost my memories, she continues to help me with an open heart. I just... I'm not sure how to reciprocate..."
388* NiceGirl: A sweet and gentle girl who is openly caring for others.
389* TheNotLoveInterest: For Juro;
390** Their first interaction in his prologue has her blushing upon waking up to talk to him, eliciting Kyuta teasing the two. As their stories progress though, their relationships never progresses beyond just good friends, and they each fall in love with different characters by the end.
391** Juro Izumi and Chihiro Morimura - Iori's predecessor - from two loops ago were in fact in love, but coinciding with the game's theme of second chances, their relationship was never destined to repeat the same.
392* OfficialCouple: With Ei in the endgame.
393* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Out of all the protagonists, Iori is the most mundane of the lot; before she's pulled into the main events, all she's had to worry about is her grades, crushing over boys, and where to eat after school. She's constantly flummoxed from all the weird circumstances she's come across, even during the final battle, and her story is the easiest to complete first.
394* PinballProtagonist: Among the 13 protagonists, she is by far the most reactive and clueless about everything that's going on in the background. Most of the major plot points that happen in her storyline tend to be a result of her accidentally stumbling into them instead of any intended proactivity from her part.
395* QueerEstablishingMoment: She appears to have a bisexual awakening when Yuki tends to her injured hand after a battle, leading her to promptly freak out and deny that she's "cheating" on Ei.
396-->"Woah, what the... why is my heart racing right now?... Wait, does that mean...? But I didn't think I was.... I mean, what if..."
397* RedeemingReplacement: The two noteworthy Chihiro Morumuras that proceed her are both incredibly flawed women who's motives conflict with the protagonists at several points, being the cynical "Professor Morimura" and the WellIntentionedExtremist "Nurse Morimura". Iori, who's the newest Chihiro under a different name, is someone that wears her heart on her sleeve and always thinks about the well-being of others, standing as a foil to the previous incarnations by embracing her feelings over cold, calculating logic.
398* ReluctantFanserviceGirl: When she first enters a Sentinel, she's rather embarrassed at the fact that [[TheNudifier she's naked whenever she has to drive it.]]
399* SmittenTeenageGirl: Her non-stop blushing and fantasizing about Ei is very easy bait for teasing from others.
400-->'''Miwako:''' "Your forehead is red."\
401'''Tomi:''' "Well she ''was'' sleeping on the desk."\
402'''Iori:''' "Oh um... I kinda bumped into someone..."\
403'''Miwako:''' (chuckling) "Now the ''rest'' of your face is red."\
404'''Iori:''' "Huh?!"
405* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Because she has Morimura's biometric ID, she unwittingly triggers shifts through the gates just by being near them. She first does this in the school's science room, accidentally sending herself to 2065 where everything is destroyed, then accidentally triggers the gate in the school pass, which traps Tomi, Nenji and Miwako in the ruined 2025.
406* YaoiFangirl: Implied, given how intently she was eavesdropping on Juro and Shu's (unintentionally homoerotic) conversation, and her following comment expressing support.
407-->''(stammering)'' "Eep! I-I think as long you love each other, it's okay!"
408[[/folder]]
409
410[[folder:Ryoko Shinonome]]
411!Ryoko Shinonome (東雲 諒子 ''Shinonome Ryōko'')
412!!''[[BrokenAce Scarred Agent]]''
413
414[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryoko_shinonome.png]]
415-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/SaoriHayami (Japanese), Creator/KiraBuckland (English)\
416\
417''"I won't let anyone else fight for me."''
418\
419A gloomy, soft-spoken girl hanging around Sakura High. Her memory is cloudy following an accident in battle. She has to take medicine regularly, otherwise she will get a severe headache and lose consciousness.\
420In the final battle, she pilots the second-generation Sentinel No. 14.
421----
422* AddledAddict: From the perspective of anyone who doesn't know about her condition, such as Yuki, Ryoko's pill-popping looks like she's got a serious problem.
423* AlternateSelf: She's the latest clone made from the genetic data of Ryoko Shinonome, a geneticist who lived in 2188. Despairing over humanity due to the fact that people were killing each other and that Tetsuya "used" her, she injected the D-Code into Universal Control, with the purpose of forcing the Ark simulation into endless loops of creation and destruction to make the project fail and destroy humanity.
424* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: Once the DD-426 virus completely devours her memories, she becomes friendly and sweet-natured, only remembering Tetsuya Ida as the man who gave her the capacity to protect people.
425* AmnesiacDissonance: The original Ryoko was a {{Yandere}} and a misanthrope who partly caused the Deimos' creation in the first place. This version has a HeroicBSOD when she learns the truth. Incidentally, it also applies to her after the DD-426 virus runs its course and removes a majority of her memories, as she becomes much warmer and friendlier than she was prior to and during her infection period. Not to mention the fact that, prior to losing her memories, she killed Ida over Ida being in love with another woman, which the post-virus Ryoko expresses disgust towards after finding out about it.
426* AmnesiacHero: She's lost all of her memories prior to her route, and her arc involves her remembering things that she's already done.
427* AmnesiaLoop: Zigzagged. Like Juro's, her storyline is structured like a GroundhogDayLoop because of her memory problems, [[RippleEffectProofMemory but she still gets to remember major details from previous day loops]] every time she ends up in the nurse's office after recalling an important event. However, it's still played straight in certain other cases, like the time she learns about what her 2188 counterpart did in Yuki's storyline or the true nature of the city's outer walls in Shu's storyline, reveals that otherwise would have completely changed the character had they stuck around.
428* ArchEnemy: Sees 426, who she originally believes is Ei Sekigahara, as this, hating him for his apparent role in destroying the sentinels.
429* BadassInDistress: In Tomi's route, she and the others find an unconscious Ryoko in the ruins of 2025, requiring her to be surveyed by Miwako while Tomi and Nenji investigate the city for clues.
430* BrokenAce: Comments from characters like Ida and Sekigahara imply that Ryoko is a very talented Sentinel pilot who provides a lot to the battle against the kaiju. But a cavalcade of trauma and hardship has left her a withdrawn and sullen girl who doesn't quite open up to and connect with her comrades most of the time.
431* ClingyJealousGirl:
432** Seeing Shu chat with Yuki causes some odd feelings in Ryoko, due to him being similar to Ida.
433--->"When I see him talking to another girl, my chest feels so tight. It feels like I'm... jealous.... No, about him? That's ridiculous. There's no way."
434** In her flashback to meeting Megumi in the Sentinel Hanger, Ryoko gets extremely possessive when Morimura informs her that Megumi is the backup pilot for No. 14, the Sentinel assigned to Ryoko by Ida.
435--->'''Ryoko:''' "I ''won''[='=]t allow it."\
436'''Morimura:''' "Piloting effectively is not possible in your condition."\
437'''Ryoko:''' "But No. 14... Mr. Ida chose ''me'' for it! It's ''my'' Sentinel."
438* CoolBigSis: She and Ei grew up together and were as close as family, with him seeing her as a surrogate big sister. It also makes it more tragic when she hunts him down under the presumption that he's 426, and Ei doing whatever he can to make her remember despite DD-426 already taking hold of her.
439-->"I spent a lot of time [[FriendlessBackground alone back home]]. Parents weren't around, [[OnlyFriend so she stepped in]]. Looked after me like a big sister. She's family to me. In that sense, I do care fore her. I want her to be happy."
440* CreepyGood: Her gloomy appearance and attitude unsettles a lot of the other pilots, but she is undoubtedly on their side fighting for humanity.
441-->'''Ryoko:''' "Has anyone suspicious tried talking to you recently?"\
442'''Tomi:''' "Uh... besides ''you''?"
443* DeathOfPersonality: Her frequent memory loss is caused by exposure to virus DD 426 in sector 2 (2064), she takes her medicine to counteract this, which also helps her cope with her constant headaches. It's heavily implied that she's actually in the late stages of what Juro suffered, with her current personality being progressively erased. By the end of her story, the only memories she has are related to piloting her Sentinel, although the virus is cured and she regains the ability to retain her memories.
444* DejaVu: She starts feeling weird every time she interacts with Shu because, unbeknownst to her, he shares the same DNA as Ida, and so she instinctively conflates the two of them without understanding why.
445-->"Shu Amiguchi, I get a strange feeling when I think about him. It's almost like... I'm ''in love'' with him."
446* DespairEventHorizon: The original Ryoko hits this when she realizes Tetsuya never truly loved her and concludes that HumansAreBastards that don't deserve to survive extinction. This is what motivates her to create the DEIMOS code and inject it into the simulation in order to sabotage the Ark Project. The current Ryoko briefly hits this after [[IHatePastMe finding out what the original Ryoko did]], pushing her to toss away her medication under the belief that she'll only keep destroying the world. It doesn't stick on account of her continual bursts of amnesia making her forget the incident, and she processes it better the second time around after being cured of her infection.
447* {{Deuteragonist}}: A unique example among the cast. Ryoko's story is one of the most interesting in terms of structure, as by the time it starts, most of it is already over- her major story arc of coming to grips with her past and killing Ida for his betrayal is one that occurs over Tomi, Natsuno, Yuki, and Shu's routes, with the climax of this story only being shown at the very end of her own route. Ryoko's route instead deals with the ramifications of her memory loss and the difficulty of coping with what she's done, which manifests itself as an amnesia loop. Essentially, Ryoko plays more of a part in other characters' routes than her own.
448* TheDogBitesBack: After suffering Ida's manipulations through their time together, she finally turns on him in the climax of Shu's route, saving Yuki and separating Ida from his other subordinates in the process . Then, in a final act of regaining control, Ryoko shoots Ida dead.
449* TheDragon: Ida's most loyal minion and most useful asset... at least until [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal she realises how little she means to him and shoots him dead]].
450* EnemyMine: Near the end of Shu's route, she shows up to his apartment ready to blast him in the face. But then he brings up wanting to go after Ida, and realizing their goals align, she joins him to get the four-eyed bastard.
451-->'''Shu:''' "Senpai, I'm sorry. I've got something I need to do."\
452'''Ryoko:''' "You ''want'' me to shoot you?"\
453'''Shu:''' "I have to go stop Ida."\
454'''Ryoko:''' "[...] Sounds like we're on the same side."
455* FirstNameBasis: With Ei, hinting that the two are close to one another.
456* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Hits the DespairEventHorizon when she learns her 2188 self is the one responsible for the Kaiju invasion, to the point she throws her amnesia medicine away under the belief that she is fated to destroy everything anyway. She gets hit with this a second time after finding out that Ida was not only using her but was in love with another woman the entire time, which prompts her to work with Amiguchi to stop Ida, and she even kills him for what he's done.
457* HackYourEnemy: The Nintendo Switch port adds the Cyberattack Missile to her kit, allowing her to program kaiju to attack each other and unaffected enemies for twenty seconds.
458* HandicappedBadass: Even though she's the most afflicted person of the pilots, having debilitating memory loss and several bodily injuries that haven't healed, this doesn't stop Ryoko from being a force to be reckoned with while fighting the Deimos.
459* HeadTurningBeauty: Despite her languid movement and sickly disposition, not to mention her [[LonersAreFreaks antisocial attitude]] and ghostly appearance, her beauty shines through. Hijiyama falls over himself after seeing her for the first time and describes her as hauntingly beautiful.
460* TheHeavy: She plays an antagonistic role in many other characters' story modes thanks to Ida's manipulations. Subverted at the end of Amiguchi's, though: she shows up to his apartment and holds him at gunpoint, but they realize they're on the same side at this late juncture and she takes a rare turn as an ally.
461* HeroicBSOD: Learning that her original incarnation is responsible for causing the Deimos attacks in a bid to wipe out humanity causes her to have a mental breakdown.
462* HopelessSuitor: She was unhealthily devoted to Ida, who was willing to manipulate her goodwill for his own means, is himself still hopelessly devoted to another girl, and is responsible for Ryoko's memory loss; it was simply never meant to be for her.
463* IHatePastMe: She hits the DespairEventHorizon after first discovering that her 2188 self was responsible for the Deimos invasion. The new self she forms after her infection is cured also expresses this towards her pre-cured self when she finds out that she killed Ida over Ida being in love with another woman.
464* ImpliedLoveInterest: Considering the MaybeEverAfter and the fact they were once an item in their original time period, she is this to Renya. That said, Ryoko does not seem to recognize Renya due to her jumbled up memories, so she never really displays any sort of opinion on him besides some mild distrust.
465* InnocentlyInsensitive: She still refers to Juro as Izumi the few times they interact, Ryoko not knowing about his identity reconstruction and still treating him like his original self. He just sounds annoyed whenever it happens.
466-->"Kurabe?... But he's Izumi-kun. I don't understand..."
467* KickTheDog: She does some pretty questionable things while following Ida's orders. Most damning is perhaps when she leaves Natsuno stranded in 2025 in order to acquire BJ's data logs.
468* LonersAreFreaks: She's usually a lone agent; even her first pilot trait buffs her if she goes off to do her own thing in battle. She's also probably the most damaged protagonist, mentally and physically.
469* LoveMartyr: She's in love with Tetsuya Ida and wants to do what she can to help him, but he only sees her as a tool and tricked her into infecting the Sentinels with the 426 virus.
470* MaybeEverAfter: According to an interview with the game’s writer/director, Creator/GeorgeKamitani, whatever Shinonome and Gouto’s relationship is at the end of the game is left up to the player to decide.
471* MsExposition: Her role in Juro's route.
472** He finds her having just woken up in the nurse's office, and she proceeds to drop a bombshell of information on him about their past, including that they're from the future, that she and Juro lost memories, and him having his personality reconstructed as someone new. Even ''he's'' still in a state of disbelief from hearing it all.
473--->'''Juro:''' "This is crazy. Honestly it's... really hard for me to believe."\
474'''Ryoko:''' (''Sincerely'') "I don't blame you."
475** He later seeks her help deliberately when he realizes Shiba's true nature and the tampering done to his memories. And it's here that Ryoko reveals the nature of 426/Juro Izumi from the previous loop to him, even keeping away from Juro out of fear of 426 being in his head. Unfortunately her memory starts fading again before she can explain more.
476* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: Her ''Atonement'' Pilot Skill heals her allies whenever her Sentinel is destroyed.
477* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She does ''not'' take the discovery of what she did before she lost her memory well.
478* MysteriousPurple: She's the most closed off and elusive of the pilots, with much of her storyline being kept vague in every story section outside her own, hence her design being heavily purple-hued as a signifier.
479* NameAmnesia: She wakes up near the end of her route not even remembering her own name, showing just how little is left now that her condition has run its course.
480* NewOldFlame: She and Renya briefly dated in middle school, and she's one of the few people who could make him lose his cool. It's left [[MaybeEverAfter unresolved]], though.
481* TheNotLoveInterest: She's one of the few people Ei actually seems to care about and he shows blatant concern for her condition despite Ryoko's belief that Ei is a murderer and traitor. However, their relationship is exclusively platonic, something affirmed by both characters.
482* PrecociousCrush: She was crushing on Tetsuya Ida, who's at least a decade or two older than her. He makes it very clear that this is not the trajectory of their relationship.
483* ReiAyanamiExpy: A mysterious bandaged girl with blue hair, a DarkAndTroubledPast, a giant robot, an emotional connection to an aloof man with glasses and is actually a clone of a scientist. The only difference is her DefrostingIceQueen act is down to a straight up mind wipe instead of her genuinely opening up.
484* ShaggyDogStory: Ryoko's storyline ends with her forgetting everything that had happened since the Kaiju attack in her time period, pretty much rendering all her subsequent efforts and investigations meaningless. This, however, is portrayed as a good thing, since her mind manages to stabilize and the emotional baggage she accumulates throughout the story would've likely broken her further had she remembered everything.
485* ShrinkingViolet: Her original personality was very shy and soft-spoken, which especially shows as she's mustering her LoveConfession to Ida. Even in the present after all the crap she's been through, her soft-spoken attitude and social aversion are still present.
486* TeacherStudentRomance: She holds special feelings for Ida, though his feelings on the matter are unknown. Turns out she never had a chance. Ida was always in love with Kisaragi, and only ever viewed her as a pawn whose affection for him made her easily used.
487-->'''Ryoko:''' "You said I was special..."\
488'''Ida:''' "You ''are'' special."\
489'''Ryoko:''' "The thing is... I felt it too, the moment you arrived. I knew you'd be special, that something might happen between the two of us..."
490* TheTurretMaster: Certain unlockable passives allow her to set two turrets at a time at a given location, making the ability much more valuable on her than the other Gen Two pilots.
491* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her total devotion to Ida leads her to take his side against Morimura, uploading DD-426 onto the Sentinels on his behalf, which saddled her and two others with debilitating amnesia. Perhaps as karma would have it, hers is more advanced and significantly more painful than the others' (Ei's is early-onset, and Juro's personality was already overwritten), and she loses herself in the end.
492* WorfHadTheFlu: She's still recovering from the devastating Deimos Battle that took place in 2064 before the main story, and is wrapped in bandages throughout her whole storyline. That plus DD-426 ravishing her mind means she isn't quite at optimal performance through the game.
493-->'''Ryoko:''' "What are you staring at me for? You probably think I look awful..."\
494'''Renya:''' "That ''is'' true... Those injured, frail arms. [[MusclesAreMeaningless To think they could produce such raw power]]. It's hard to comprehend..."
495* {{Yandere}}: She kills Ida after having seen his recordings in the Sector 1 factory, where he essentially admits that he just wants to save Tomi and doesn't care about anything else. She herself admits that she doesn't care that Tetsuya was only using her, but she found unacceptable that he was in love with another woman (though the discovery he was willing to kill humanity to save Tomi certainly didn't help her opinion of him), so she disabled the stun mode on her gun and shot to kill. However, Ida managed to back up his consciousness into a droid before this happened, so he was still around in some sense. Present-day Ryoko subverts this, becoming disgusted with Ida and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone herself]] after learning the truth.
496[[/folder]]
497
498!!Third Generation Pilots
499[[folder:Shared Tropes]]
500* EmergencyWeapon: The Third-Generation Sentinels have their Stun Knuckles as their sole melee armaments for kaiju that get in close and are armored against their bullets and missiles. They don't do much damage, they have limited range, and unlike the Rush Attack of the First-Generation models or the Heavy Knuckles of the Second-Generation models, they cost actual EP to use.
501* LongRangeFighter: They're designated as "Long-Range" units with an emphasis on area control and striking enemies from afar. Many of their armaments can travel the entire length of the map.
502* MightyGlacier: Their incredible range is offset by the weakest mobility of the Sentinels, having no gap-closers or ways to increase movement speed.
503[[/folder]]
504
505----
506
507[[folder:Natsuno Minami]]
508!Natsuno Minami (南 奈津乃 ''Minami Natsuno'')
509!!''[[LovableNerd Sci-Fi Geek]]''
510
511[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/natsuno_minami.png]]
512-> '''Voiced by:''' Kaoru Sakura (Japanese), Creator/EricaMendez (English)\
513\
514''"Just watch, one of these days, I'll work for NASA. And I'm gonna find a real alien!"''
515\
516An energetic and honest member of the track and field team. She is also a sci-fi enthusiast who dreams of genuinely interacting with aliens. She has a family of four, including her parents and younger brother, and is close with her neighbor, old lady Tamao - Juro Kurabe’s grandmother. Things take an extraordinary turn when she discovers a little robot in the school locker room, which she names "BJ".\
517In the final battle, she pilots the third-generation Sentinel No. 17 given to her by BJ.
518----
519* AGirlAndHerX: With BJ.
520* AcademicAthlete: She's not only a member of the track team, but is pretty smart and has a broad knowledge of science fiction and UFO lore.
521* ActionSurvivor: Having no combat skills outsider of her Sentinel, she spends most of her storyline narrowly evading danger and thinking on her feet. This includes outwitting the Men in Black surrounding her school, escaping 1945 as it's being attacked by Deimos, hiding from a pair of robot dopplegangers tearing each other apart, and surviving in the ruined 2025 while hostile androids swarm her location.
522* AlternateSelf: She is the latest clone made from Natsuno Minami, an astronaut in 2188 and the daughter of Professor Yuki Takamiya.
523* ApocalypseMaiden: She's the current holder of the Control Key (the Deimos-Code), which compels the kaiju to attack. This is also the reason they attack all other sectors before Sector 4, as she comes from there. Destroying Sector 4 first would mean destroying the key as well. Killing her wouldn't help, however.
524-->'''426 (As Tamao):''' "Those monsters, the ones that destroyed the city, they have a new commander. And it's ''[[WhamLine you]]''."
525* AffectionateNickname: Her female friends call her "Nat-chan."
526* BattleCouple: She receives direct damage buffs if she attacks after Miura in combat, thanks to the latter's passive ability. Having the two on the same team is a good way to maximize their damage.
527* BookDumb: Despite being obsessed with outer space and being quite GenreSavvy, Iori implies that Natsuno's grades in science aren't the best. Natsuno can only respond with an awkward chuckle.
528* BreakTheCutie: BJ's HeroicSacrifice leaves her in shambles. When she appears in Ei's route, after BJ's already gone, she's not her usual cheery self and spends a lot of time looking away from others in sadness.
529* ChildhoodFriends: With Yuki. She also became friends with Iori and Miwako in elementary school.
530* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Her fascination with aliens is generally treated with amusement from those who know her.
531** Yuki discovers her journal with notes about her adventures with BJ, and it all sounds like Natsuno leaping to conclusions and inventing her own fiction rather than recounting objective fact.
532--->'''Natsuno's Journal:''' "What follows is an investigative record of important moments in time and space: I have finally encountered my destiny. He has arrived from outer space; an actual extraterrestrial being! In summary, woah. Aliens really ''do'' exist."\
533'''Yuki:''' "Did Nat-chan make this all up?..."
534** When one of her track teammates sees her sneaking out from practice, Natsuno gives a very grandiose excuse that the teammate shrugs off like it's just what she expected to hear.
535-->'''Natsuno:''' "Please don't tell Senpai. Our planet is in danger, there isn't a second to spare!"\
536'''Teammate:''' ''(Unphased)'' "Yeah, whatever."
537* CommonalityConnection: She and Juro share VHS recordings of sci-fi media with each other.
538* DitzyGenius: She's able to navigate danger well thanks to her quick thinking, and is aided well by her understanding of sci-fi concepts. Though between her [[EntertaininglyWrong frequently jumping to conclusions]] and her general [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} eccentricity]], it can make her moments of brightness hard to spot.
539* EmbarrassingNickname: People used to call her "Dr. Space" when she was little due to her obsession with outer space; she's not thrilled when Yuki calls her that as a teenager.
540* EndearinglyDorky: The passion she exudes whenever she goes on about something alien-related makes others smile. While Natsuno sometimes gets embarrassed about it, usually someone is there to ensure that what she loves is worthwhile.
541-->'''Yuki:''' "Glad to see Dr. Space is alive and well."\
542'''Natsuno:''' "I'm weird, aren't I..."\
543'''Yuki:''' "Of course not. It makes me happy actually, to know you're still my Nat-chan."\
544'''Natsuno:''' "Hehe."
545* EntertaininglyWrong: The entire time she spends with BJ, she assumes he's an alien, solely based on a heat-of-the-moment assumption that he never bothers to correct. Otherwise she takes in the same info as many of the other characters, Sentinels, kaiju and all.
546* {{Fangirl}}: One of the movies she mentions loving is "E.X.T", a film about [[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial a human befriending an alien]].
547* GenerationXerox: The Natsuno of 2188 was an astronaut, and it's clear that love for space hasn't waned in her clone-descendants. She also [[ReincarnationRomance falls in love]] with her version of Keitaro.
548* GenkiGirl: Her characterization emphasizes her energy and good-humor, being absolutely stoked to meet what she thinks is an alien and carrying through in exuberant spirit.
549* GenreSavvy: While she's [[EntertaininglyWrong completely]] misread the whole situation with BJ, time travel, and the SIU hunting him, her love of science fiction and knowledge of genre tropes works surprisingly well for helping her quickly identify that the cute little robot is the good guy, the creepy thugs in suits and shades hunting him are probably the bad guys, and that the aliens ruining the world must be stopped, as well as for helping her improvise solutions like sneaking BJ around in her gym bag.
550* GirlNextDoor: Invoked and PlayedForLaughs; She and Juro are neighbors and friends at school, which makes Shiba immediately jump on the idea that there's something more there to screw with Juro.
551-->'''Shiba:''' "Who's that chick?"\
552'''Juro:''' "Minami-san, my neighbor. My grandma's pretty close with her family."\
553'''Shiba:''' "You're looking 'pretty close' yourself."\
554'''Juro:''' (''Blushing'') "What are you trying to imply!?"
555* HeterosexualLifePartners: She's very close friends with Yuki, who she has known since early childhood. This is possibly a result of their 2188 originals being daughter and mother respectively.
556* IJustWantToBeSpecial: The moment she meets a cute little robot in her locker room, she jumps at the opportunity to live out her beloved fantasy of meeting aliens and getting hyped at the idea of being TheChosenOne.
557-->"An alien? Are you an alien from space!? Oh my god... I'm ''TheChosenOne!''"
558* LegFocus: She's often depicted in her track uniform, which ends up showing a lot of leg. Her LoveInterest [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Miura]] notably becomes flustered by the sight of them when they first meet.
559-->"Maybe I shouldn't have worn my gym clothes..."
560* LightningBruiser: Played with. Her ''Warmup Run'' Pilot Skill encourages that she be constantly moving around the battlefield for bonus attack power, and this compliments how her most expensive armament ''Missile Rain'' is most effective at close-to-mid range. But in spite of her athleticism outside of it, her Sentinel has the lowest movement speed out of the Third Generation models.
561* LovableNerd: A sweet and bright young lady who absolutely ''loves'' aliens, so much that she dreams of being an astronaut one day ([[{{Foreshadowing}} keep note of that last bit]]).
562* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: The energetic Masculine Girl to Miura's soft-spoken Feminine Boy.
563* MoralityPet: Hinted to be this for Yuki, who she's able to get to calm down and apologize when she and Ogata start arguing.
564* NiceGirl: A very sweet young lady who gets along with most people she meets. She's quite gentle when meeting BJ for the first time, even while unrestrainedly giddy at meeting an "alien". There are some limits to her niceness though, like sternly breaking up a confrontation between Yuki and Nenji, and giving a sharp reprimanding to the latter for barging into the girls' locker room.
565* OfficialCouple: She and Miura were an item in 2188, much to Yuki's chagrin. By the game's end, they get together again and are engaged in the epilogue.
566* OnlyFriend: Yuki describes her as the one person she truly cares about, and goes to great lengths to protect Natsuno throughout the game.
567-->'''Yuki:''' "Nat-chan, my {{childhood friend|s}}. We went our separate ways in middle school, but we still kept writing to each other. She's the ''one'' person I really care about."
568* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: You know things get bad whenever she loses her high-spirited energy, as demonstrated with how much danger she is put in throughout the duration of her story.
569* {{Otaku}}: She's a big fan of sci-fi, especially works involving space and aliens.
570* PassionateSportsGirl: She is in her school's track and field team, and is implied to be one of the better athletes there considering that the team captain gets annoyed when Natsuno starts skipping practice.
571* PluckyGirl: Whether it's a future devastated by alien war, a present where grim-faced government agents are trying to hunt down her new alien friend, or a fascist past being turned into a sea of flames by American bombs and Deimos, Natsuno can't be kept down for long, and even when she does get scared it spurs her to act and run rather than freeze up. The only major exception is when 426 corners her in the North Building girls' restroom, where she cowers while Tamao shows up and the two androids brawl and rip each other apart.
572* SecretKeeper: In exchange for Juro letting Keitaro stay at his place, Natsuno - in a somewhat {{Blackmail}}y fashion - keeps Megumi's residence in Juro's home a secret.
573* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She develops feelings for Keitaro, who's as honest and good-mannered as they come.
574* WildCard: Like Nenji, she wasn’t heavily involved in the anti-kaiju war efforts of the previous loops, and thus compromises (or helps) the plans of antagonistic refugees from them who try to use their knowledge of the old world to take control of the current setting.
575[[/folder]]
576
577[[folder:Keitaro Miura]]
578!Keitaro Miura (三浦 慶太郎 ''Miura Keitarō'')
579!!''[[ChildSoldier War-Torn Youth]]''
580
581[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keitaro_miura.png]]
582-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/KaitoIshikawa (Japanese), Creator/ZachAguilar (English)\
583\
584''"I have to protect my family, and everyone I hold dear. Even if it costs me my life!"''
585\
586A thoughtful and serious young man who cares for his sister. His hat conceals a wound on his forehead. He and Hijiyama are senpai and kouhai in the same town. He has an extremely resilient love for his country.\
587In the final battle, he pilots the third-generation Sentinel No. 19.
588----
589* AlternateSelf: He is the latest clone made from Keitaro Miura, an engineer from 2188 [[{{Irony}} who wished he could be born in the cataclysmic 1940s that shaped the modern world]].
590* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's normally a pleasant young man, but it's easy to forget that he's a trained soldier. And when he learns that his sister has been kidnapped and taken to a different era, his BigBrotherInstinct kicks in and he sounds ready to take out Gouto the moment they meet before being talked down.
591* BigBrotherInstinct: He's very protective of his little sister Chihiro, and the first thing he does when the Deimos attack his era is to find her amidst the destruction. And the rest of his route is spent trying to get back to his era and find out if she survived the invasion. His love for her remains even as she recovers Professor Morimura's memories.
592* ChildhoodFriends: With Hijiyama and Tamao Kurabe.
593* ChildSoldier: Despite being a High Schooler, he was drafted as a soldier during World War II, and notes that the schools are empty because every teenager who hasn't been drafted like him is being put to work in factories.
594* TheComicallySerious: He'll tell you with a straight face that "Hemborger" is the greatest culinary innovation of the century.
595* DeliberateValuesDissonance: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], but as he comes from the 1940s, his values are a bit different than other characters, such as getting flustered by Natsuno's gym uniform and the shorter skirt lengths of 1980s schoolgirls.
596* DistractedByTheSexy: When talking to Natsuno, he has to constantly avert his gaze so as not to peek at her [[LegFocus thighs]].
597-->"So, whenever you exercise, you all change into outfits that show your legs? That's... ''fascinating''..."
598* DramaPreservingHandicap: A long-running obstacle in his route is his inability to summon or dismiss his Sentinel prior to the final battle, necessitating a daring raid on where the SIU is concealing it. Notably, Hijiyama has no issue doing either despite receiving almost the exact same nanomachine treatments as him in both Sectors 4 and 5.
599* EntertaininglyWrong: He initially thinks the Deimos are American mecha, due to being from World War II. Later, seeing the rebuilt modern skyline of a 1985 city, his first assumption is that he's somehow been taken prisoner and transported to an American city.
600* EyeObscuringHat: His hat occasionally does this pose.
601* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Was born in the 1940s and is transported to '85, and he's quite curious and inquisitive about the world around him. A lot of concepts in modern Japan also catch him off guard, such as DelinquentHair, girls wearing skirts and gym bloomers, and carbonated drinks.
602* {{Foil}}: To Takatoshi, the other male pilot from the 1940s;
603** Takatoshi is assertive and hyper-masculine, Keitaro is very modest and youthful-looking.
604** Takatoshi's Sentinel is primed for full-frontal combat, Keitaro is designed to fight from the backlines.
605** Miura is able to adapt quite well to 1985, and finds suitable residence with Juro and Megumi. Takatoshi spends six months struggling to find food let alone somewhere to sleep, eventually crashing in Okino's lab and hanging around Sakura High for meals.
606* GenerationXerox: He falls in love with Natsuno just like his 2188 counterpart.
607* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Takatoshi, both hailing from the same era and having trained to be pilots together. The two remain close comrades through the whole game.
608* HumbleHero: He's quite modest about his achievements, almost to a fault. When drafted into the war, he admits to Takatoshi that he has doubts that he's the right pick to fight for Japan. He's also extremely reluctant to accept food from Megumi, not wanting to be a burden.
609-->'''Takatoshi:''' "What's wrong, Keitaro? You resent being drafted?"\
610'''Miura:''' "No. Just... of all people, why would they choose me?"
611* InnocentlyInsensitive: When seeing Shu and Nenji for the first time, after being shifted to 1985, he rather cluelessly makes some statements about the latter two's hair that Nenji hears, ending with a schoolbag smacked across Keitaro's face.
612-->'''Keitaro:''' "This one has a particularly strange hairstye..."\
613'''Nenji:''' Hey, you tryin' to get your ass kicked?"\
614'''Keitaro:''' It looks like... I've finally gone crazy..."\
615'''Nenji:''' " You wanna see crazy!?"
616* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: The soft-spoken Feminine Boy to Natsuno's energetic Masculine Girl.
617* TheMentor: Since they use the same type of Sentinel, he briefly teaches Natsuno how to use her armaments, and one of the Pilot Skills he can learn grants her shots bonus damage if she attacks immediately after he does.
618* NiceGuy: Always a caring and well-mannered young man, with a very strong protective streak.
619* OfficialCouple: He and Natsuno were an item in 2188, and by the game's end, they get together again.
620* OlderThanTheyLook: His high school uniform, by the standards of the eighties, looks closer to what middle schoolers wear, hence why several characters comment on him looking out of place.
621* PatrioticFervor: A little more nuanced than Takatoshi; while he also finds himself discomforted by the strange and alien future of 1985, he is a bit more reflective, taking pride in his nation's strength and rebuilding after the defeat rather than merely feeling shame. His file outright says he "loves his country more than anyone." Of note, it's not so ingrained or powerful enough for him to keep it when he's made aware that Japan no longer exists and that the war he had feared and trained for wasn't actually happening.
622* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The Sensitive Guy to Takatoshi's ManlyMan.
623* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Natsuno's track teammates assume that Keitaro is her boyfriend because of how much time they spend together, to which he denies in embarrassment.
624* ShipTease: Gets quite a bit of it with Natsuno. After their first meeting in 1985, his Thought Cloud about Natsuno reflects his intense and flustered attraction to her.
625-->"Natsuno-san... Get it together, Keitaro. She certainly is quite... yes... I admit, she's bright, cheerful... attractive... B-But right now, I have more urgent matters to attend to."
626* SignatureHeadgear: He almost never takes off that old-fashioned schoolboy hat of his. A lot of his animations show him fiddling with it when deep in thought or nervous.
627* TakingYouWithMe: If his Sentinel is destroyed, it releases a powerful shockwave that will ideally destroy any kaiju around him so that he himself can escape safely until he can summon it again.
628* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Hamburg steak, or "[[{{Malaproper}} hemborger]]" as he calls it; it's the food he becomes obsessed with after landing the 80s.
629-->"Those meatballs they call 'Hemborger'. I've never had anything so delicious."
630* WalkingArmory: His original niche in the first iteration of the game is that his Sentinel had access to all the best long-range weapons in the game including a stronger version of the rail gun and the Super Large Missile.
631* YouCantFightFate: He not only becomes entangled with a Natsuno Minami, but despite her inheriting the robot an earlier version of him used in battle, he still winds up piloting a Third-Generation Sentinel.
632* YouCantGoHomeAgain: He shifts to 1985 right as the Deimos completely raze his town. Because shifting can only occur in specific intervals, he can't go back to the moment before the attack, meaning all that awaits him in '45 is a burning hellscape.
633[[/folder]]
634
635[[folder:Tomi "Usami" Kisaragi]]
636!Tomi Kisaragi (如月 兎美 ''Kisaragi Tomi'')
637!!''[[GuileHeroine Sassy Snoop]]''
638
639[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomi_kisaragi.png]]
640-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/MaoIchimichi (Japanese), Creator/CassandraLeeMorris (English)
641A girl who can easily come off as unrestrained and sassy, but has a strong mind with a quick wit that is able to overcome adversity. Her nickname is Usami, a play on an alternate reading of the first character 兔 in her first name 兔美.
642
643In the final battle, she pilots the third-generation Sentinel No. 16, originally piloted by Miyuki Inaba.
644----
645* AffectionateNickname: Her friends call her "Usami."
646* AllGirlsWantBadBoys:
647** Defied. Ogata's delinquent attitude repulses her, and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan it's only when she sees or hears about his softer or more chivalrous side that she finds him appealing]]. This is emphasized in Ogata's own story route, where getting into a fight with Wajima causes her to walk off in disgust, but speaking sincerely to her about his predicament and his feelings gets through to her and helps her listen.
648** This might still be a straight example, since the Tomi from one loop ago was said to prefer tough guys, which is the reason Ida changed up his once nerdy appearance. Then again, ClonesArePeopleToo, and a key theme of the game is that expecting them to be exactly the same as their counterparts from other timelines is foolish.
649* AlternateSelf: She is the latest clone made from Tomi Kisaragi, a terraforming researcher from 2188.
650* AnimalMotif: Rabbits; the kanji in her given name means rabbit, hence why her nickname is "Usami", a play on "usagi" for rabbit. The two big twintails are a nod to rabbit ears too.
651* BabiesEverAfter: Implied to have at least two children with Ogata in the DistantFinale.
652* BeautifulSingingVoice: She's mentioned to be good at singing. This ends up being {{Foreshadowing}} for the real identity of Miyuki Inaba.
653* ClingyJealousGirl: During Nenji's chapter, she'll suspect that Nenji has a thing for Iori if she spots him spying on her and Okino, and she'll get on his case. When he retorts that she's not his girlfriend, she blushes and turns away.
654-->'''Nenji:''' "For real, it's not like that."\
655'''Tomi:''' "Then what IS it like?"\
656'''Nenji:''' "What do you care? You're not my girlfriend. Why are you even getting so worked up?"\
657'''Tomi:''' "...It's not a big deal, I was just... curious. Sheesh..."
658* DeadpanSnarker: She's incredibly sassy with others, especially Nenji.
659-->"Well, cleeearly I'm just a hopeless busybody.
660* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: She has a bad habit of saying a lot of the modern-day concepts out loud in her current 1985 environment, confusing the natives there.
661* FearlessFool: When she first meets [[JapaneseDelinquent Nenji]], she's quick to poke fun at his DelinquentHair without concern.
662* FireForgedFriendship: She and Nenji don't get along at first, due to their first meeting involving her making fun of his DelinquentHair because of her FishOutOfTemporalWater status, then her being turned off by his rude and confrontational temper. After they're flung to the future though, they start to get along a bit better, to the point of them getting some ShipTease, especially once she realizes he's a decent guy under his tough and standoffish attitude.
663* FishOutOfTemporalWater:
664** Her story starts with her being absolutely amazed at the strangeness of late Showa era Japan (and accidentally picking a fight with Ogata due to his hairstyle). As she comes from 2024, this is not surprising, but Iori privately admits on her own story route that she finds Tomi pretty weird, even though she's still her friend.
665** In a moment of sadness, she quietly admits to herself the surrealness of being thrust back in time by comparing her age to those around her.
666-->"Those girls over there... They ''look'' about my age, but... back home, they must be in their 50's... It's too weird..."
667* GuileHeroine: Behind all that sass she spews out, Tomi knows how to be pretty sharp. In order to gain access to the gates and shift, she stakes out Tokisaka Shrine and watches Okino shift back to the current era. She immediately jumps on the chance to blackmail Tsukasa with the threat of Morimura discovering his actions, netting herself his cooperation and access to time travel. Because of this, she's able to make contact with Miyuki Inaba and learns a great deal about Project Ark alongside several others.
668* InterfaceSpoiler: While there's plenty of other foreshadowing, her first pilot skill all-but makes her double-life as a net idol explicit.
669* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: An incredibly sassy and sharp-tongued little lady. Nonetheless, her friends mean the world to her and she's very proactive trying to keep them safe.
670* LittleMissSnarker: Invoked; she's the smallest of the thirteen, and many characters assume she's younger than she really is. Small though she may be, she's got the biggest mouth by far and is unafraid to be as blunt and dry as she can.
671* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Between all of the characters from the future, she seems to be a bit more in the dark.
672* MoralityPet: She becomes one for Nenji; after Nenji's presented as a thug through other prologues, their interactions in the ruins of 2025 show off his soft side for the first time. And while trying to escape a time loop, he tries to keep her safe at all costs too. Even after learning the Tomi he's with is a figment of his mind, he still gradually acts as respectful as he can to her, and it's implied to be here when he fully parses his [[LoveEpiphany growing feelings]] for her.
673-->'''Nenji:''' "I wanna ask you somethin'. If you knew the world was gonna end in a couple of minutes, how would you spend 'em?"\
674'''Tomi:''' "Uh, where's all this coming from?"\
675'''Nenji:''' "I just wanna know how you feel."\
676'''Tomi''' "(...)Well... I can't really get anywhere in a few minutes, so I guess... I'd spend them with ''you''..."
677* OfficialCouple: With Nenji in the endgame. They even mention [[BabiesEverAfter having kids.]]
678* OnlyFriend: She's Megumi's sole friend and confidant. Unlike Megumi, she herself has no trouble making other friends and quickly strikes a friendship with Iori and Miwako, even though Iori privately admits that she comes off as a weirdo to people from the past.
679* OlderThanTheyLook: Despite being 15-16 like all the other first-year high school protagonists, Tomi is sometimes mistaken for a middle or even an elementary schooler due to her petite frame and childish voice and mannerisms.
680* PluckyGirl: She's initially optimistic about 2025 surviving, up until she's forcefully shifted there and sees the destruction it's faced.
681* RedOniBlueOni: The outspoken and assertive Red Oni to Megumi's demure and reserved Blue Oni. Even the color of their glasses match up
682* SheIsAllGrownUp: It's not seen, but the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue has Nenji mention that, after the post-ending Timeskip, Tomi looks significantly different... including having (according to an appreciative Nenji) [[BuxomBeautyStandard huge breasts]].
683* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: She's frequently mistaken for Nenji's girlfriend even before they get together in any capacity, leading to this from both of them. Invoked in her unique passive "It's Not Like That!", which raises her stats if Nenji is deployed in the same fight.
684* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: In Iori's route, Miwako explains how Wajima's gang were harassing her and Iori outside of school, but Nenji came to their rescue and fought off the gang. Tomi sounds impressed and is seemingly blushing at the image of Nenji doing something like that.
685* TheSocialExpert: Even when taken to an era decades older than her own, she takes to making new friends with ease, quickly becoming close friends with Iori and Miwako.
686* StepfordSmiler: She tries to keep up her pluckiness even when looking at the wreckage of her home in 2025, doing a bad job [[TryingNotToCry hiding her tears]] from Nenji who's accompanying her. It opens up a moment of tenderness between the two.
687-->'''Nenji:''' "You don't have to push yourself. If you wanna cry, then cry."\
688'''Tomi:''' (''Sniffling'') "Don't be stupid. I'm not crying.''\
689'''Nenji:''' "Oh yeah? What's with the voice then? Gotta cold or something?"\
690 '''Tomi:''' "[[BlatantLies I always sound like this]]."\
691'''Nenji:''' "Whatever you say..."
692* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: She introduces herself this way to Fuyusaka and Sawatari.
693* ThisCannotBe: While she sees the Deimos attack begin in her era, she's shifted to 1985 before seeing the true extant of the destruction. When recounting the attack, she's still in denial of things being as bad as they are. It's only after comforting a sobbing Megumi and returning to 2025 herself that it starts to sink in.
694-->'''Tomi:''' "My mom and dad. They're fine, right? Gotou's just making things up. Tell me it's all a big lie."\
695'''Megumi:''' "..."\
696'''Tomi:''' "It has to be, right?..."
697* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Crepes.
698* {{Tsundere}}: Is one towards Nenji, especially evidenced in battle with her berating him for his recklessness if his health gets low. One of her skills is called "It's Not Like That!" and activates if Nenji is on the team.
699* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: One of her Pilot Skills, called "You're so Reckless", grants her attacks bonus damage against enemies who get too close to Nenji The feeling is mutual, as Nenji deals more damage if Tomi is ever hurt in battle. The name of the skill just reinforces their bicker-laden relationship.
700* YouCantGoHomeAgain: She and Megumi are refugees from the ruined 2025, having come to 1985 right as the Deimos attacked. Tomi however hasn't totally internalized the damage done and is still in denial when she arrives in '85. It's only after returning and seeing the damage that it sets in.
701-->"I never saw it myself; the world was destroyed apparently... What do I even say to that? 'Yeah, cool. Got it'?"
702[[/folder]]
703
704!! Fourth Generation Pilots
705[[folder:Shared Tropes]]
706* BalancePowerSkillGimmick: Each generation of Sentinels has a pilot that fits into one of the first three categories, but those of the Fourth Generation have Shu Amiguchi as the Gimmick thanks to his odd yet potent Pilot Skills (which include damage bonuses from alternating between weapons, and gaining heightened stats the more [[ChivalrousPervert girls are on his team]]) propping up an otherwise unfocused array of available armaments.
707* FlyingFirepower: Whereas the other Sentinel classes' mobility are bound by moving around the city streets, Gen Four Sentinels are designed for airborne combat and can fly over buildings and enemies, and can belt out all kinds of damage from a safe distance.
708* FragileSpeedster: Their flight makes them by far the fastest Sentinels, but outside of Takamiya they don't have the survivability of first gens and can't effectively sit on the back line and shoot in the same way third gens can. Making the most of them usually relies on them darting in and out of enemy fire.
709[[/folder]]
710----
711[[folder:Megumi Yakushiji]]
712!Megumi Yakushiji (薬師寺 恵 ''Yakushiji Megumi'')
713!!''[[YamatoNadeshiko Steadfast Guardian]]''
714
715[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/megumi_yakushiji.png]]
716-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/MaayaUchida (Japanese), Creator/CristinaValenzuela (English)\
717\
718''"This time, it's my turn to save you."''
719\
720A serious girl who does not often show her emotions, but has a strong affection for Kurabe, whose family has taken her in. She is good at cooking, and makes bento lunches and dinner for Kurabe and Miura every day.\
721In the final battle, she pilots the fourth-generation Sentinel No. 23.
722----
723* ActionGirlfriend: Juro remains quite passive throughout his route, not throwing himself into the action until the stakes get high enough (like an AI controlling his brain or a Kaiju attack). Megumi by contrast engages in a lot of action through her and other routes, being the one to administer the nanomachines from Fluffy and getting into confrontations regarding that. Then she recues Juro from Tsukasa in the factory, incapacitating both the latter and Takatoshi.
724* AlternateSelf: She's the latest clone made from the daughter of lieutenant Nozomu Yakushiji, subordinate of Major Juro Izumi, who lived in 2188.
725* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She has long, black hair, and comes across as pretty cold. She's actually just shy and passive, though people mistake it for aloofness.
726* BrokenBird: Her prologue shows the before and after of her entire world falling apart around her, explaining why she's so closed off throughout the game. Her era has been destroyed by the Deimos, leaving everyone she knows either missing or dead; Juro Izumi, someone she deeply, mutually loved, is now an [[AmnesiacLover amnesiac]] shell of his former self; she's taking refuge in an era forty years older than her own, and she's now being expected to be called to the frontlines once the Deimos attack this era.
727* CastingGag: Megumi's story plays on MagicalGirl tropes and has more than a few references to ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', so it fits like a glove for her to voiced by Creator/CristinaValenzuela, the English voice of Homura Akemi.
728* ClingyJealousGirl: She gets quite moody when she notices Juro being close with other girls, most notably when she finds him together with Iori at school, assuming that he and Iori were an item at one point. A more subtle example occurs when Natsuno visited Juro's home. Even though she initially hid herself when Juro asked her to, she quickly walked back in, for no apparent reason other than showing Natsuno that Juro is taken.
729-->'''Megumi:''' "So, you and [Fuyusaka]. Seems like you two are pretty close..."\
730'''Juro:''' "W-What are you talking about?"
731* CombatMedic: Her Sentinel can unlock the ''Shield Repair'' armament, making her one of the three pilots who can heal a teammate. The "combat" aspect of this trope is strengthened in the Nintendo Switch version, which gives her stronger beam and missile weaponry options.
732* DeadpanSnarker: She engages in plenty of SnarkToSnarkCombat with Fluffy, who's [[{{Jerkass}} no easy individual]] to work besides.
733-->'''Megumi:''' "I can come play with you after school for a bit, okay? Just cause your ''[[SarcasmMode sooo]]'' cute.\
734'''Fluffy:''' "Sure, make fun. Just the fate of the world that's at stake."
735* DealWithTheDevil: Invoked; while Fluffy's true intentions and morality are unknown, she'd make one of these if it meant preventing her beloved Juro from fighting again. Played with. On one hand, what Fluffy is making her do is necessary, since the shots from her "magic gun" are what the sentinels need to use meta-chips and become stronger in order to overcome the kaiju (and notably, the activation spots of the pilots are exactly in the body parts she shot). On the other, while Fluffy is restoring Juro Izumi's memories (as he's also Shiba), it's not "her" Juro's memories that he's restoring, but rather the memories of another Juro from a past loop that ended up becoming 426. Kind of subverted in the end game when it's revealed that Fluffy really did try to bring back "her" Juro's memories as best he could (there just wasn't much left due to the DD-426 infection) and thought fondly of Megumi as almost a daughter.
736-->"If it really is true, and there really is a way to bring back Juro... then I'd make a '''deal with the devil''' if I had to."
737* DeathSeeker: After learning she was being manipulated by 426 the whole time, and shooting Juro with the nanomachine gun in a blind panic, Megumi begins hallucinating herself aiming the gun at her, and decides that her [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dying will be for the best after all she's done]]. Thankfully, it's not a lethal shot, and Juro is able to help her pull herself together.
738* EasilyForgiven: Juro Kurabe still falls for her despite her forcing herself into his life and attempting to erase his existence, and none of the other characters begrudge her for shooting them with the nanite gun, at least without a few sassy remarks...
739-->'''Tomi:''' "Seriously Megumi, I wish you'd just told me."\
740'''Megumi:''' "I have to apologize... If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be-"\
741'''Tomi:''' "Look, there's only one thing I want an apology for: I got that switch 'cause you shot me, right? 'Cause like... did you ''have'' to put it on my back? I'm gonna give myself a cramp swiping that thing.
742* {{Expy}}: Of [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Homura Akemi]]. Beyond physical similarities and sharing an English voice actress, Megumi is also an AloofDarkHairedGirl who travels back in time, is adept with a gun, and made a DealWithTheDevil in order to grant her wish to save the person she loves most by preventing them from going into combat where they'll inevitably die.
743* FatalFlaw: Her possessiveness; She has difficulty treating Juro Kurabe as his own person instead of Juro Izumi, and has no interest in his current personality or the kaiju problem until the finale. And the moment she thinks something threatens to come between her and Juro, like assuming Juro has feelings for Iori, Megumi goes full-{{Yandere}}. While the source of her issues is sympathetic, being the loss of Juro Izumi and her failure to move on, it still causes friction in all of her relationships, including with Juro Kurabe.
744* FeminineWomenCanCook: She cooks regularly for herself and Juro (and Miura), fitting her gentle, classically feminine vibes. Others compare her to a housewife because of it.
745* {{Foil}}: To Iori; both are kind young ladies who are hopelessly in love with a boy and get roped into the plot by past incarnations of the main cast.
746** Megumi already has a history with Juro from meeting in her era of origin, only for him to lose his identity and her clinging to his new self in the vain hope of restoring his memories. Iori only meets Ei in the first chapter of her route but has her heart set on seeking him out and getting to know him despite the increasing risks of doing so.
747** Megumi's love for Juro morphs into ruthless and ill-informed actions that slowly drive her to a breaking point and threaten to bring harm to anyone else she cares for. Whereas while Iori makes some rash choices chasing Ei, she never puts herself before the well-being of her friends, with the danger she faces instead coming from confronting forces she doesn't understand.
748** Their designs heavily contrast each other too; Megumi has dark-straight hair and a very cool color palette that accentuates her withdrawn and cold image. Whereas Iori has wavy blonde hair and a very light color palette that accentuates her pure and gentle image.
749* GenerationXerox: ZigZagged; she's a fatherless girl that ends up under the watch of an iteration of Juro Izumi, just like the Megumi of 2188. Though in regards to her dynamic with Juro Kurabe, she's the one who takes on the role of caretaker and protector between them, inverting her original's role under the original Juro.
750* GenreSavvy: Upon meeting a talking cat offering to grant her a wish through a contract, she's quick to note the trappings of {{magical girl}}s at play. This is doubly-hilarious considering the [[Characters/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaHomuraAkemi character]] she's [[{{Expy}} riffing on]].
751-->"A contract, with a ''cat''. Are you going to turn me into a '''magical girl''' or something?"
752* GreenEyedMonster: Due to her obsession with Juro, Megumi does not take kindly to any potential competition. This is why she has no qualms about shooting Iori when she is designated a witch, after she overheard some conversations and got the wrong idea.
753* ImagineSpot: Whenever Megumi is about to shoot someone with her "Magical Gun", but fails because the player overlooked something, the "failure" is portrayed as Megumi just imagining the worst that could happen to her before coming back to her senses.
754* InSeriesNickname: Takatoshi refers to her as the "Yakisoba Pan Angel", on account of her treating him to the food while he was on the brink of starvation. He continues calling her that even during the final battle.
755-->'''Takatoshi:''' "You're an inspiration to us all, Yakisoba Pan Angel."\
756'''Megumi:''' "Hijiyama-san... could you stop calling me that?..."
757* {{Irony}}: The original 2188 Megumi Yakushiji was a child who was understandably incapable of doing much during the devastation of the colony. Her playable version is, in contrast, heavily involved with the plot.
758* KarmaHoudini: She's was willing to erase an innocent person from existence, shanghai innocent children into fighting a war and even symbolically shoot her best friend in the back to get back the man she loves. It goes off exactly as she wants, with 426 restoring as much of her Juro Izumi's memories as possible resulting in Juro Kurabe falling in love with her.
759* KickTheDog: In Ryoko's flashback to meeting Megumi, right after the latter has escaped from 2025's destruction, Ryoko is having an outburst and getting [[ClingyJealousGirl possessive]] over Sentinel No.14 to Morimura, prompting an extreme response from Megumi that attacks Ryoko and her disorder:
760-->'''Ryoko:''' "It's ''my'' Sentinel."\
761'''Megumi:''' "Then you're the one who should've been in it... If you're really that possessive of it, then why didn't ''you'' fight instead of Juro?... It doesn't matter, [[AmnesiaLoop you'll forget this too]]... just like everything else..."\
762'''Morimura:''' "Yakushiji-san!"
763* KindheartedCatLover: She seems genuinely thrilled to meet the cat that hangs around Sakura High and acts quite cute around it. Though that's before realizing what a headache ''he'' really is.
764-->'''Megumi:''' "You really ''are'' an unpleasant cat."\
765'''Fluffy:''' Admit it, you like me. The first time you saw me you were all 'Fluffy! ''Fluffy!''[='=] [[CutenessProximity Chasing me around with that dumb look on your face]]."\
766'''Megumi:''' (''Blushing'') "T-That's not true!"
767* LikeADaughterToMe: 426 admits that he's come around to seeing Megumi like a teenaged daughter, mirroring the dynamic of Juro and Megumi from 2188. As bizarre and strenuous as Megumi's dynamic with Fluffy is, he does still take it upon himself to fulfill her needs and desires by trying to restore Juro Kurabe and makes sure she's not putting herself in any unnecessary danger by covering her tracks on his mission. Juro Kurabe intuits that the video logs of the original Juro caring a young Megumi are precious to 426.
768* LovingAShadow: Even though Juro Izumi is stated to be gone, she can't help but still identify Juro Kurabe as the former due to them both being the same in body. And her storyline has her struggling to reconcile that Juro Kurabe is who's left and finds herself repeating habits she shared with Izumi with him, like hugging and walking to school alongside Juro who hasn't developed that same connection with her yet, resulting in a bridge forming between them.
769-->'''Renya:''' "I recognize the position you're in; you harbor feelings for him, correct? But he is no longer the Izumi that you knew. He is Juro Kurabe now. You would do well to consider him an entirely different person. The new personality is ''not'' stable. Don't disregard the danger this may put you in."\
770'''Megumi:''' "Juro ''will'' recover, I'll make sure of it."\
771'''Renya:''' "Even if we erased the personality of Juro Kurabe, it would be a futile effort as I already explained. Izumi's memory is ''gone'', there is nothing left."
772* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
773** Just before she shoots Iori, Megumi realizes how {{Yandere}} she's acting, and becomes very uncomfortable with her actions, realizing just how eager she's been to hurt Iori out of jealousy rather than a desire to help Juro, deliberately aiming for her leg instead of her head to avoid causing major injury.
774** She goes into a deep despair when it becomes clear that the Juro Izumi she knew is truly gone, and that she shot several people - including her BestFriend - for a purpose that could never be fulfilled. She quickly runs away from Juro Kurabe in tears, who was just about to confess his love to her.
775-->"Is there really [nothing of Izumi] left?... No... I betrayed everyone... I betrayed Tomi... It was all a lie!... I'm... I'm such an idiot!"
776* NiceGirl: PlayedWith; at her core, Megumi really is kind and self-sacrificing towards others, as evidenced by the way she comes to others' needs like caring for Juro and helping a starving Takatoshi. Though the loss of Juro Izumi and her desperation for closure starts to conflict with her kindness, and she does things she wouldn't otherwise do in the name of bringing him back.
777* OfficialCouple: With Juro in the endgame.
778* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Her mood gets grimmer when all signs point to the Deimos approaching soon with Megumi not wanting Juro to have to return to battle after his personality got wiped, and being extra protective of him as a result. The most extreme this gets is when she [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend fires the nanomachine gun at Renya]] the first time he suggests Juro will have to return to combat.
779* PrettyFreeloaders: For unspecified reasons, she's living together with Juro in the year 1985, playing the role of a pseudo-housewife to him. He's not too thrilled at the idea of anyone finding out and is trying to find an excuse to get her to depart. It's later revealed that she requested to be assigned there for the chance of restoring Juro Izumi, and from the perspective of Kurabe, she's just this girl he goes to school with that moved in unannounced.
780* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: The majority of her arc seemingly amounts to this due to her {{Yandere}}-fueled DealWithTheDevil. Subverted when it's revealed that what she was manipulated into doing by Fluffy was actually for the best and directly results in the world being saved in the end.
781* RedOniBlueOni: The demure and reserved Blue Oni to Tomi's outspoken and assertive Red Oni. Even the color of their glasses match up
782* RegretfulTraitor: She takes no pleasure in shooting her friend Tomi (not realizing what the nanomachine gun really was), and tries to find an opportunity where the two don't have to look each other in the face as it happens.
783* TheResenter: She has a chip on her shoulder against Ryoko over Juro getting injured in the battle of 2024, due to no other pilots being there to help him. She lets it go after Ryoko loses her memories.
784* ShrinkingViolet: She's the most soft-spoken of the main characters, and has the hardest time connecting with her new comrades outside of Juro and Tomi. It's implied she never really made friends in her original era and mostly keeps to herself when brought to 1985 with Tomi.
785* SickeninglySweethearts: As shown in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, she and Juro can't stop flirting and complimenting each other after becoming a couple, to 426's annoyance due to how sugary their interactions are.
786* SingleTargetSexuality: She only ever has eyes for Juro, be it Izumi or Kurabe.
787* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Tomi outright calls her a hopeless romantic, and Megumi gets her wish upon meeting and falling in love with the heroic and kind Juro Izumi... [[SubvertedTrope then]] he gets brain-wiped... [[DoubleSubversion then]] she falls in love with Juro ''Kurabe''.
788* SkewedPriorities: Juro points out multiple times that if people find out they're living together, they could be expelled. Megumi honestly couldn't care less if that did happen.
789* SupremeChef: Though Juro is initially very reluctant to have her living with him, he can't deny that her cooking is delicious. Miura ecstatically requests that she make hamburger steak when she happily offers to cook.
790* UnwittingPawn: Her storyline is all about doing 426's dirty work for him. Fortunately for her, this ends up being a good thing in the end.
791* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: At first she's terrified at the idea of shooting Renya with the gun Fluffy gave her, abhorring the idea of shooting someone. But that attitude changes the moment Renya suggests that Juro will have to repilot his Sentinel, exposing him to danger once more. And she doesn't bat an eye firing at him. And at the end of Juro's route, she incapacitates both Tsukasa and Takatoshi to break out Juro under Fluffy's order.
792* WithCatlikeTread: Her attempts to snuff out Ei in the Old School Building completely fall flat, as he notes she's just rushing in with no plan or sense of subtlety. He's the one who gets the drop instead.
793-->'''Ei:''' "[[LampshadeHanging Stomping around with your gun out like that, you're not sneaking up on anyone that way.]]"
794* YamatoNadeshiko: Although she is shy and passive regularly, when it comes to saving Juro she isn't afraid to do anything. When she finds out the truth of her deal, she unhesitatingly shoots herself as well to join in the fight.
795-->'''Yuki:''' "I figured you were just some prissy little nerd whinin' about your problems. But you're a real badass. More than these guys anyway. You're okay in my book."
796* {{Yandere}}: She's usually hesitant to follow Fluffy's orders, but when Juro vaguely alludes to the dreams that he's been having, which involve Iori Fuyusaka, Megumi instantly jumps to the conclusion that he has feelings for Iori. So when Iori is assigned as a witch, Megumi does the job almost immediately. Downplayed in that she doesn't act on her jealousy until she has other reason to do so and isn't controlling of Juro beyond her desperate attempts to kindle Izumi's memories.
797[[/folder]]
798
799[[folder:Yuki Takamiya]]
800!Yuki Takamiya (鷹宮 由貴 ''Takamiya Yuki'')
801!!''[[JapaneseDelinquents Gang Leader]]''
802
803[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuki_takamiya.png]]
804-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/AmiKoshimizu (Japanese), Creator/LauraPost (English)\
805\
806''"You can relax, kids. I'm back in the fight!"''
807\
808A skilled sukeban (delinquent girl) from Suzu High, whose name is known even in other schools. She has a strong sense of justice and cares about her friends. She is always up for a fight. Natsuno Minami, her childhood friend, is the only person she can talk to without feeling restrained.\
809In the final battle, she pilots the fourth-generation Sentinel No. 21.
810----
811* ActionGirl: All of the female Sentinel pilots count, though Yuki is the crowning example for being the most hands-on combatant even without her Sentinel.
812* AlternateSelf: She's the latest clone made from the genetic data of Professor Yuki Takamiya, who lived in 2188. She was responsible for designing the Ark and is the mother of astronaut Natsuno Minami.
813* AmateurSleuth: When Natsuno goes missing, Yuki starts investigating her whereabouts with the help of Erika Aiba.
814* AnimalMotif: The Hawk; "Takamiya" is derived from the Japanese word for hawk ('taka'), she pilots one of the airborne Gen Four models, has an aggressive playstyle built around diving into the action, and is a total MamaBear who is fiercely protective of her loved ones. Just look as she watches "Nat-chan" like a hawk.
815* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: On the receiving end of this from Tetsuya Ida, as he will only guarantee the safety of her imprisoned father (who got in jail due to problems with a Yakuza boss) if she collaborates with his Intelligence Agency.
816* BadassInDistress: In the final act of Shu's route, Ida's men hold her at gunpoint to force him and Ryoko to cooperate.
817* BookDumb: Despite proving to be pretty sharp, her grades are stated to be below-average. It's implied she landed in a different school than Sakura High due to poor scores on her entrance exams. And in Shu's route, she lands herself in detention after flunking a test.
818* BoyishShortHair: A photo of her when she was little shows that she used to keep her hair really short, looking like a boy next to Natsuno.
819* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Beneath that tough persona she projects, she's got a good heart, most notably around her childhood friend Natsuno.
820* CastingGag: Her Japanese actor, Creator/AmiKoshimizu, is famous for voicing [[Characters/KillLaKillRyukoMatoi Ryuko Matoi]], another gruff {{Tomboy}} in a red and black uniform. Hilariously, Ryuko's English actor, Creator/EricaMendez, voices Yuki's BestFriend Natsuno.
821* ChildhoodFriends: With Natsuno. Her involvement with the SIU is partially out of concern for Natsuno's apparent involvement with weapons experiments.
822* ClingyJealousGirl: After one battle, Ryoko will ask Shu if he can give her a ride on a bike, prompting Yuki to get flustered and ask if he's really going to. When Shu asks if she's jealous, she's quick to deny it.
823-->'''Shu:''' "Yeah, what's wrong with that- *GASP* Don't tell me you're-"\
824'''Yuki:''' "No dumbass, I am NOT jealous!"
825* CloseRangeCombatant: Her upgrades and Pilot Skills place more emphasis on full-frontal combat than the other Fourth Gen Pilots, with her Leg Spike armament being strong enough to one-shot even big armored kaiju. She also gets much tougher to put down when up against more enemies.
826* ClosetKey: She unwittingly ends up being this to Iori, the latter finding herself enamored as Yuki tends to a cut on her hand, then having a panicked bisexual awakening.
827* ContraltoOfStrength: Is the most physically aggressive of the female pilots and happens to also have the deepest voice.
828* DaddysGirl: She's working for the men in black in exchange for her father's protection, who's in prison for stabbing a Yakuza and has survived multiple attempts on his life while in prison.
829-->"Maybe he's nothing but a two-bit gangster, but he's the only real family I have."
830* DontYouDarePityMe: She takes it poorly when Shu steps in to help her with Wajima, seeing it as an insult to her [[OneWomanArmy capabilities]].
831-->"You think these chumps are a threat to me? ''Really?'' Just another pack of posers."
832* DrinkBasedCharacterization: She's a rough and tough sukeban, yet her favorite drink is a simple ''apple juice box'', something more suited for a kid's lunchbox. It's stated she used to share them with Natsuno when they were young, showing that despite Yuki's tough image, she's sentimental at heart.
833* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: If Iori's moment of gay panic when Yuki tends to her injured hand is indication, Yuki does have an effect on women.
834* EveryoneHasStandards: She draws the line at the MIB threatening women and children, bludgeoning one of them for laying hands on Iori.
835* FamedInStory: She's a delinquent well-known in other schools as "Takamiya of Suzu High" for putting 12 other delinquents in the hospital.
836-->'''Wajima:''' "That's Takamiya from Suzu High."\
837'''Shu:''' "Wait, the gang leader? The one who beat all you guys up? No way."\
838'''Yuki:''' "I only trashed ''three'' of these clowns."
839* GenerationXerox: She's as tough, sharp and motherly as the Yuki Takamiya of 2188. And it greatly informs her current dynamic with Natsuno, the daughter of the original Yuki, as Yuki desperately searches for Natsuno through her route and refuses to let any harm come to the latter.
840* GeniusBruiser: She proves to be quite sharp throughout her storyline, being a competent investigator and is able to identify and corner a disguised 426 with a bit of help from some others. Considering that the original Yuki Takamiya was a genius engineer, having designed Project Ark's self-replicating probes, this checks out.
841* GoingColdTurkey: Part of the reason she's so antsy and bad-tempered for her own story is because she's recently given up cigarettes, and it's causing her no end of pain and irritation.
842-->'''Megumi:''' "They said [the fire] was caused by a delinquent smoking cigarettes. It wasn't ''you'', was it?"\
843'''Yuki:''' "Hey! I laid off the cigs after I transferred here. Which means I'm not getting my nicotine fix! Which ''means'' you better watch yourself."
844* HeterosexualLifePartners: She and Natsuno have been close friends since childhood, and Yuki is very protective of her. It's possibly linked to her genetic origin being from the mother of the original Natsuno.
845* ImprovisedWeapon: Her school bag contains a steel plate instead of books, so she can swing it in a fight.
846* IronicName: "Yuki" is Japanese for "snow", yet she's one of the most HotBlooded characters in the game.
847* JapaneseDelinquents: A sukeban who sent several boys to the hospital at her old school. Tomi is fascinated about how blatantly stereotypical she is.
848* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's quite abrasive and eager to throw hands, but is loyal, caring and vigilant beneath it all. Notably, she looks out for Ryoko when the latter's memory loss starts to worsen, despite the two having a [[FireForgedFriends poor first impression with each other]].
849* KickChick: While on foot she doesn't seem to favor kicks over punches or blows from her school bag, her Fourth Generation Sentinel is the only one that starts out with the powerful Leg Spike melee attack, and she has many unique upgrades to improve her melee firepower.
850* TheLadette: She's a major tomboy, standing out from the other leading ladies for her gruff and assertive attitude. Her Sentinel has more in common with the all-male, First Gen bruisers than the other pilots.
851* LightningBruiser: She benefits from the boundless flight of the Gen Four Sentinels but with power and toughness that outpace the pilots of her class.
852* MamaBear: Her deep protectiveness towards Natsuno is implied to be the maternal instinct she inherited from the original Yuki Takamiya - who was Natsuno Minami's mother. Their first conversation in Natsuno's storyline, upon a second go through the game, reads more like a mother doting on her child. Then there's the fact that Yuki blasts apart a mob of terminators to rescue a stranded Natsuno in the future, and the two have a tender, BigDamnReunion.
853-->"I'd come find you anywhere, Nat-chan. Even if I had to cross time and space to do it."
854* TheMole: She's revealed to be an undercover agent for the men in black. She was asked to attend Sakura High School to investigate weapons development and Shikishima Industry's connection with it.
855* NewTransferStudent: Transferred to Sakura High at the start of her story. In actuality, this is possible under arrangements by Tetsuya Ida as part of an infiltration to seek her assistance in keeping an eye on the compatible pilots. Yuki was not happy about it.
856* NoSelfBuffs: She doesn't get her own WT halved by her Active Cooling Device, no matter how much it's upgraded.
857* OddFriendship: She, a rough-as-nails delinquent, is best friends with Natsuno, a bubbly sci-fi geek. Justified as the two have shared a bond since childhood and are implied to know each other like the back of a hand. Sharing DNA might also play a factor.
858* OfficialCouple: With Shu in the endgame. [[BabiesEverAfter They even have a daughter named Konatsu!]]
859* OneWomanArmy: She's said to have single-handedly taken on a whole rival gang by herself, and sent several of their members to the hospital. She also completely schools Wajima and his gang after they threaten her and Aiba.
860* RedIsViolent: Her assertive and fierce attitude is emphasized by a red and black palette.
861* RegretfulTraitor: She hates the fact that she's working with Ida and working behind her friends' backs. Both Natsuno and Shu react in confusion and sadness when they realize what's going on, both in moments that paint Yuki in a bad light and she can only look ashamed of herself.
862* RageBreakingPoint: She goes ballistic at the sight of Ei aiming a gun at Natsuno, striking him with no questions asked before Natsuno eases her over.
863* SquareRaceRoundClass: Most Fourth Generation Sentinels focus on air superiority, mixed with a smattering of ArmorPiercing attacks and missiles and torpedos that slow down or overheat enemies. While Yuki does have access to many of these abilities, she starts with the powerful Leg Spike melee attack and gets many upgrades otherwise largely unique to First Generation Sentinels, such as Counter and Ceramic Composite Armor, to make her an unconventional aerial melee combatant.
864* StraightManAndWiseGuy: She finds herself playing the Straight (Wo)man to Shu's Wise Guy, constantly rebuffing all of his flirting and carefree remarks.
865--->'''Yuki:''' "You gonna be okay after that?"\
866'''Shu:''' "What do you mean?"\
867''Yuki:''' "Wajima, man. You know that guy's an amateur boxer, right?"\
868'''Shu:''' "So my [[YourDaysAreNumbered days our numbered]], huh? Well, do I get a last wish, Takamiya-san? Because I'd love to know your first name."\
869''Yuki:''' "Does this guy hear himself?..."
870* TomboyishPonytail: She wears her hair in this style with a red ribbon. She apparently had BoyishShortHair when she was younger but Natsuno convinced to grow it out.
871* TransferStudentUniforms: Still wearing her old school's uniform, complete with lengthened sukeban skirt.
872* TrashTalk: She makes a habit of goading whatever opponent she's up against. Her confrontation with Wajima's gang in Shu's route has her constantly mocking Wajima and Co. the whole time, completely unphased by their threats. And she does the same thing to Nenji in Natsuno's route when the two provoke each other in the hall.
873-->'''Nenji:''' "So that Kuri gang you beat up. They're hanging around our school now. What're you gonna do about it?"\
874'''Yuki:''' "Ha! What are you, my ''mom''? (...) I'm no DamselInDistress, I can take care of my own shit. So beat it, pinhead."\
875'''Nenji:''' "What did you say to me?"
876* {{Tsundere}}: She brushes off Shu's flirting most of the time, but some instances hint that she secretly enjoys it, hence her heavy blushing.
877* UnknownRelative: Natsuno is shocked to learn from BJ's logs that the original Yuki Takamiya was her counterpart's ''mother''. It's never clarified when Yuki finds out that she and Natsuno are related, though by the epilogue it seems to be common knowledge between the two.
878[[/folder]]
879
880[[folder:Renya Gouto]]
881!Renya Gouto (郷登 蓮也 ''Gotō Ren'ya'')
882!!''[[TheSpock Seeker of Answers]]''
883
884[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/renya_gouto.png]]
885-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/JunFukuyama (Japanese), Creator/BenLepley (English)
886
887A leader-like character with a sharp mind, who calmly leads the Sentinel pilots.\
888In the final battle, he pilots the fourth-generation Sentinel No. 22.
889----
890* AlternateSelf: He's the latest clone made from Renya Gouto, CEO of Shikishima in 2188.
891* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Renya diligently writes down everything he experiences in a notebook. This, in combination with his analytic and logical personality, allows him to figure out many mysteries and secrets on his own such as working out that the young Morimura possesses Professor Morimura's memories, not Ms. Morimura's.
892* ChickMagnet: It's not hard to find girls in the background swooning over him due to his looks and mature charm. People who actually [[TheFriendNobodyLikes know him personally]], though, are humourosly flabbergasted by that fact.
893-->'''Tomi:''' "Seriously? ''That guy''? Geez... so that's how it is."
894* CuttingTheKnot: Instead of trying to hack Professor Morimura’s logs, he kidnaps Iori Fuyusaka, a clone of Morimura, and uses her biometric ID.
895* FlatCharacter: While not necessarily a vanilla protagonist, Gouto's own character and past is left unexplored (save for a previous relationship with Ryoko and crush on Ms. Morimura). This is likely an enforced example in order to not overshadow the remaining plot twists and reveals the game still has to offer with more character drama.
896* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Being an aloof upperclassman, a distant coworker, a ''kidnapper'', and a stiff expositor for much of the story doesn't endear him much to his fellow pilots outside of respect for his leadership skills and reliable nature. While all the other protagonists have a friend or love interest hail them if their Sentinel is critically damaged, Gouto only gets a call from his FriendlyEnemy Chihiro, and it takes outright ''dying'' to elicit a reaction out of his ex-girlfriend Ryoko.
897* GatheringSteam: His ''Just as Planned'' Pilot Skill can keep his stats boosted if he kills multiple kaiju in single strikes.
898* GoodAllAlong: Throughout most character storylines outside his own, he's framed to be as suspicious as possible. He's keeping constant tabs on several students for no stated reason, is administrating strange drugs to Tamao, and most damningly, he's the one that removes Chihiro Miura from 1945 to have her personality replaced. Once the game's biggest reveals are dropped though, it reframes Renya as a well-intentioned, if [[AntiHero heavy-handed]], hero who does a lot of heavy lifting to assure victory for the protagonists in the end.
899* HeKnowsTooMuch: Chihiro Miura tells him this before attempting to shoot him only to have the phaser not fire because Renya made it so that it can't shoot himself or Chihiro.
900* ImpliedLoveInterest: Considering the MaybeEverAfter and the fact they were once an item in their original time period, he is this to Ryoko. That said, Renya never brings up their past together at all (in fact, the whole thing is brought up by Ei in an optional scene instead), although there are subtle hints that he cares a great deal for her well-being.
901* LateCharacterSyndrome: Since the purpose of his storyline is to uncover the remaining mysteries of the plot, Gouto's prologue only gets to be playable halfway through the game, with everything else being locked until the endgame proper.
902* TheLeader: Shares traits of I and II; Renya is extremely smart and analytical, utilizing his strategic skills to guide his teammates into (hopeful) victory. He's also remarkably levelheaded and mature, and rarely ever loses his cool.
903* LikesOlderWomen: The person he was in love with was the adult Ms. Morimura.
904* MaybeEverAfter: According to an interview with the game’s writer/director George Kamitani, whatever Shinonome and Gouto’s relationship is at the end of the game is left up to the player to decide.
905* MindScrewdriver: Most of the information regarding the rather complicated backstory of year 2188 comes from his frequent inquisitions towards Chihiro and personal theories that turn out to be scarily spot on.
906* MrExposition: Nearly his entire story is taken up with tying up loose plot threads and explaining ambiguous plot points.
907* NewOldFlame: He and Ryoko briefly dated in middle school, and she's one of the few people who could [[NotSoStoic make him lose his cool]]. It's left [[MaybeEverAfter unresolved]], though.
908* NotSoStoic: Chihiro manages to make him finally show some strong emotion when she intuits that he was in love with Ms. Morimura. For the first time, Renya's composure breaks and he sounds genuinely distraught having to confront his grief over Ms. Morimura's death.
909* RedeemingReplacement: His original incarnation from 2188 was the CorruptCorporateExecutive of Shikishima Industries who placed the hit on Professor Morimura. Renya, while still doing some questionable things, never gets that extreme, and what he does do is in service of the greater good.
910* SecretFinalCampaign: Unlike how non-linear the rest of the game is, you need to 100% everyone else’s story and beat at least level 3-5 in Destruction to finish Gouto’s route. This means you’re doing his story last and likely just before the FinalBoss.
911* SeenItAll: A lot of his calmness is the result of experiencing one MindScrew after another, getting numb to the monumental revelations about the nature of his world.
912-->'''Ms. Morimura:''' "Gouto-kun... are you holding up?"\
913'''Renya:''' "These grand revelations don't really faze me anymore."
914* ShedArmorGainSpeed: He can reduce his waiting time between using his armaments if he has fewer weapons equipped.
915* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: By far the most intelligent of the protagonists, and one of the only few to wear glasses.
916* TheSpock: He frequently proves to be one of the most intelligent characters in the game, able to parse details about the densely layered setting from extensive observation and plan out effective strategies for the other pilots. He is, however, one of the most impersonal characters, and so has a hard time displaying empathy, making his relationship with the other pilots unfavorably tense.
917* TheStrategist: He serves this role for the team; while he ''can'' fight in a mecha, most of its unique abilities are geared towards supporting and directing the actions of his teammates, and he has a personal skill that grants a bonus to everyone on the frontline as long as he's left on the backline.
918* StoicSpectacles: Wears glasses and is always visibly calm.
919* TallDarkAndHandsome: Pointed out as tall and good-looking by some female characters, something that makes girls like Miwako swoon thinking about him.
920* TeacherStudentRomance: He's in love with Ms. Morimura, who he's known since before they started pretending to be teacher/student in sector 4. Ms. Morimura has no eyes for anyone except 426 and doesn't even seem to be aware.
921[[/folder]]
922
923[[folder:Shu Amiguchi]]
924!Shu Amiguchi (網口 愁 ''Amiguchi Shū'')
925!!''[[TheCharmer Breezy Playboy]]''
926
927[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shu_amiguchi.png]]
928-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/TatsuhisaSuzuki (Japanese), Creator/MickWingert (English)\
929\
930''"News flash, buddy. I can't walk away from a cutie in trouble."''
931\
932A playboy who was born into money and is good at sports. He is somewhat frivolous, though also extremely sociable, so most people around him tend to like him. In truth, he finds modern society to be a boring place. Lately, he has been worried about a dream he often has and the words of a mysterious girl coming from the television.\
933In the final battle, he pilots the fourth-generation Sentinel No. 20.
934----
935* AcademicAthlete: Iori states he used to be a popular soccer player when they were in middle school, but that he quit after getting "bored" with the sport.
936* TheAce: He's rich, smart, and athletically gifted, leading to his massive popularity in Sakura High.
937-->'''Schoolboy 1:''' "The [[ChickMagnet girls fawn over him]], he's [[AcademicAthlete great at sports]], and his [[TeenGenius grades are higher]] than those nerds that study all the time."\
938'''Schoolboy 2:''' "Wow, he's really got it all..."\
939'''Schoolboy 3:''' "Totally unfair, man..."
940* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Gender-inverted; his reaction to finding out Yuki is with the SIU goes from shock and sadness to allure once he gives the reveal some thought.
941-->"So she's been monitoring me this whole time? She's actually some secret-service government spy? That's crazy... also, not gonna lie, [[PowerDynamicsKink weirdly hot]]."
942* AlternateSelf: He's the latest clone made from the genetic data of Tetsuya Ida, the System Administrator for Project Ark, who lived in 2188.
943* AmazonChaser: When he first meets her, he's honestly surprised that Yuki is a {{Delinquent}} who was able to put three guys in the hospital. This does nothing to lessen his attraction towards her though.
944-->"Man, she's cute. Bombshell like that sending those Kuri guys to the hospital? I've never met anyone like her before. I might have just fallen for her."
945* AmnesiacDissonance: He and both Tetsuya Idas shown are completely different people. Interestingly, this also extends to how their relationships developed -- while Tetsuya fell in love with Tomi as a teenager (who immediately returned his feelings) and [[LoveMakesYouEvil did some awful things in her name]], Shu instead falls for Yuki and, despite their OddFriendship, has a much healthier relationship with her.
946* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Delivers one to Yuki when Tetsuya has her at gunpoint. Fortunately, they both survive to become an actual couple.
947* AntiClimax: His route concludes relatively early in the third act, leaving much of its features to be resolved by other characters. He doesn’t get a definitive personal reckoning with Ida, he only scratches the surface of the truth beyond the city’s geographical limitations, and the recap of it even points out that he failed to actually rescue Yuki with their interactions remaining awkward in scenes set after his confession.
948* BadassBookworm: He's gifted both academically and athletically, and is stated to have once run with Nenji and fought off rival delinquents together. When he applies himself, Shu proves to be one of the most intelligent compatibles.
949* BestFriend: He's the closest friend Juro's got, the two of them spending time bonding over films and getting food.
950* BewareTheNiceOnes: Laid-back playboy that he is, some comments imply that he used to be a delinquent in middle school; he and Nenji reminisce about fighting Kuri High students and living to tell about it. And in Shu's prologue, he punches Wajima in the face to help Yuki. This pays off chapters later when he delivers a long-deserved hook to Ida's face.
951* BodyBackupDrive: As part of deal with Ida, Ms. Morimura was secretly implanting Shu with Ida's memories as a means of allowing Ida to take over Shu's body.
952* BrilliantButLazy: He's a wildly intelligent and talented young man who can master different disciplines with ease. But he then has a bad habit of getting bored and quitting hobbies after only a short time. This is even a passive ability for his Sentinel - called "Easily Bored" - where he gains bonus stats for switching to an ability he hasn't used recently.
953* TheCassandra: Defied; he realizes that there's no way anyone would believe that Miyuki Inaba is talking to him through his TV at night, so he opts to just keep it to himself.
954-->"'Hey, so I've been talking to this pop star through my TV'. (''cringes'') Yeah, no. No easy way to drop ''that'' bomb. They'd have me committed."
955* TheCharmer: He's a charming, persistent but ultimately respectful guy, and manages to charm Yuki, a renowned delinquent, enough that they become an OfficialCouple.
956* ChickMagnet: He's been massively popular with the girls since middle school, with several background characters constantly gushing about him when he's not present. It's to the point that when Megumi asks to speak with him in private he assumes it's a confession purely from ''how common'' it is. Nenji is exasperated to even be in the same room when he thinks someone's confessing to Shu.
957* ChivalrousPervert: Claims to be an "ally of girls," and alternates between hitting on them and coming to their rescue. While piloting Sentinel No. 20, he also possesses an ability appropriately named 'Playboy', which increases his stats the more girls are active in the strike team. He’s notably the only playable character to have substantial scenes with all of the female protagonists during his route, although half of them either hit him or threaten him with violence. It even manages to squeeze in Natsuno at the very last minute.
958-->'''Yuki:''' "You're awfully docile today."\
959'''Shu:''' "Just don't want you to hate me. For being too agggressive, y'know?"
960* CoolBike: If you need any more proof of his wealth, he has his own bike.
961* TheDandy: The persona he presents is designed to pass as the cool PrettyBoy, being flamboyant, laid-back, and styling his hair like a pop star. Ida, who did a similar thing when he was Shu's age, admits its all so he can pass as the perfect "bad boy" and impress his crush, implying that Shu has a similar mindset of dressing to impress. This persona, of course, falls apart once someone chips at his barriers, be it the blunt and surly Yuki or the polite and reserved Juro.
962* DisappearedDad: Wherever his father is spending all of his time, it's not with Shu. Shu mentions his dad having a mistress at different points, implying he's off indulging himself and neglecting his son.
963* DoggedNiceGuy: Tends to follow Yuki like a desperate puppy, much to her chagrin. However, he takes great pains to back off whenever he senses her starting to feel he's [[ChivalrousPervert being too aggressive in his flirting]], and gets to genuinely prove himself by trying to save Yuki from Ida.
964-->'''Shu:''' "You wanna go get a drink somewhere?"\
965'''Yuki:''' "I'm good. You can just let me off. I got places to be."\
966'''Shu:''' "Well, I'll drive you."\
967'''Yuki:''' "I'll just take the train."\
968'''Shu:''' "Really, it's fine! Where am I headed?"\
969'''Yuki:''' "Take a hint, man...."
970* EstablishingCharacterMoment: His prologue introduces him riding upon Yuki's confrontation with Wajima's gang, and Shu's first instinct is to step in, quip at Wajima and [[ChivalrousPervert give Yuki a hand]]. And the moment they're safe, he starts asking her out on a date, clearly [[DoggedNiceGuy getting on her nerves]] in the process.
971* FullyAbsorbedFinale: His story ends on a {{Cliffhanger}} and is resolved in Kisaragi’s story.
972* GoodSamaritan: After Miura accidentally pisses off Nenji and gets knocked out, Amiguchi takes him to his apartment. He also takes Ryoko to the Nurse's office when she passes out in front of him.
973* HandsomeLech: Good-looking though he might be, his advances aren't always appreciated, and the savvier girls of the cast tend to react to him in an exasperated manner. Yuki's the primary example of this dynamic.
974-->'''Shu:''' "I didn't... offend you or anything, did I, Sawatori-san."\
975'''Miwako:''' (''Fangirling'') "Amiguchi-kun remembers my name..."\
976'''Shu:''' (''Suavely'') "I remember Tomi-chan too."\
977'''Tomi:''' (''Unimpressed'') "Why bother remembering me?"\
978'''Shu:''' "I never get a girl's name wrong."\
979'''Tomi:''' (''Groans'') "Miwako, [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim what do you see in this guy]]?"
980* HeroStoleMyBike: Steals a motorbike in the middle of the Kaiju attack so he can better move around the city without needing to exhaust himself while in the Sentinel. Ogata calls him out on this.
981-->"Hey, don't say it like that, I'm just borrowing it. Cut me some slack, man, it's an emergency.
982* InsultOfEndearment: Yuki mockingly calls him "Loverboy" due to his flirty attitude. As they get to know each other though, it just becomes a term of familiarity for them.
983* JackOfAllStats: Among the Fourth Gen Sentinels, who are designated as support units, Shu's ability-set is pretty spread out, having options for dealing damage, protecting teammates and inhibiting enemy movements. This is further emphasized by his "Easily Bored" passive which strengthens any ability he hasn't used consecutively, encouraging him to do a bit of everything throughout the battle while not specializing in a certain area like the other support pilots.
984* IHatePastMe: He's nothing but disgusted learning of all the selfish and immoral things Ida did trying to revive the latter's version of Tomi, calling Ida out for turning the people he loves into tools.
985* LadykillerInLove: He's a lover of all ladies, but after meeting Yuki and being impressed by her spirit, all of his attention shifts to trying to spend time with her.
986* LonelyRichKid: PlayedWith; he's quite popular at school and has plenty of people he hangs out with regularly, but this is contrasted against his living situation where he's alone in a dimly-lit, media-filled apartment, and his father apparently is always elsewhere with no time for Shu.
987* MinorLivingAlone: He's by himself in an apartment with a ''massive'' bedroom. He mentions a father at one point, but [[ParentalNeglect he appears to spend more time at his mistress' place than at home with Shu]].
988* MistakenForGay: At one point, Iori thought that he might be in a relationship with Juro. He actually seems mildly amused at this.
989* OddFriendship: He's good friends with Nenji, which goes all the way back to middle school. It's implied that Shu himself was a delinquent in the past.
990* OfficialCouple: With Yuki in the endgame. [[BabiesEverAfter They even have a daughter named Konatsu!]]
991* PrettyBoy: Multiple characters comment on his good looks. Yuki even mockingly calls him the trope name verbatim.
992* RedeemingReplacement: The previous Tetsuya was a man [[CrazyJealousGuy obsessed with his love interest]] and did [[{{Yandere}} awful things]] in order to bring her back from the dead. Shu, in contrast, is a flirty but good-hearted teen who learns to respect and support his love interest in a way that is eventually reciprocated.
993* SadClown: His jokiness and laid-back nature are established early on, but beneath that it's implied that he's actually quite troubled; he has a very [[LonelyRichKid lonely home life]], doesn't know how to talk to his crush without [[HandsomeLech sounding like a douche]], used to brawl with gangs in middle school, and the events of his route leave him perpetually exhausted and afraid of losing his mind. His attitude is thus presented as more of a coping mechanism for the insanity the game throws at him.
994* SpoiledSweet: He comes from a very wealthy family, to the point that he can afford all the latest game consoles, live in his own luxurious apartment, and even has his own bike, but he's also a pretty NiceGuy, [[ChivalrousPervert if a bit of a flirt.]]
995* TeenGenius: Much to Yuki's surprise, he regularly scores very high on school assignments without trying much. This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that Tetsuya, his AlternateSelf, was one of the project leads on the Sentinel project.
996-->'''Yuki:''' "He got a ''92''? Maybe he's not just a dumb, PrettyBoy after all. Then again, he ''did'' ball this up and leave it on the ground... Yup, still an idiot."
997[[/folder]]
998

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