Zegapain

Zegapain
File:Zegapain.jpg NEWTYPE Magazine Spread
Genre	Mecha, Science Fiction, Romance, Computer networking
Anime
Directed by	Masami Shimoda
Studio	Sunrise

Zegapain is an anime television series produced by Sunrise, known for also producing Gundam, My-Otome and My-Hime. The first episode was aired on April 6, 2006.

Plot

Sogoru Kyo, a high school boy living in a city called Maihama, who leads a normal life of school, romance, and the swim club. Kyo's life changes when he sees a girl, Misaki Shizuno, at the pool one day and discovers he is initially the only person who can see her. He is drawn into a world of fighting giant robots in a game-like world. However, Kyo soon comes to realize that the world that he is living in might not even be real at all.

Characters

Maihama Minami High School

Sogoru Kyo (Shintaro Asanuma)

The protagonist, who discovers the world he lives in is an illusion and must fight to save the real world and protect the people who still live within the illusory world. He is a talented pilot and serves as the Altair Zegapain's Gunner. According to Shizuno, his past self was thoughtful and prudent and kept his emotional pain to himself.

Kaminagi Ryoko (Kana Hanazawa)

Kyo's childhood friend, a cheerful girl who dreams of becoming a film director and is a member of the high school Video Club. She is perceptive and is the first of Kyo's friends to "awaken" to the real world with a much easier transition than Kyo. She has been recognized to be a "Witch", a Wizard with an almost telepathic link with the Gunner, and becomes the new Wizard of the Altair. Despite her talents, her data is severely damaged after her first battle; though she is eventually restored, her apparition in the Maihama server lacks emotion as her emotional data component is trapped within the Altair. The emotional component remain locked and only accessed when she inside the Altair.

Misaki Shizuno (Ayako Kawasumi)

A beautiful girl who knew and loved Kyo in his past life, before he was reborn. She acts as the Wizard of the Altair Zegapain, but later becomes Chris' partner after Arque's death. She is an expert of data salvage and saved Kyo, Ryoko, Toga, and many other Celebrants. She is also referred to as "Yehl"; Misaki Shizuno was a name given to her by the previous Kyo. Shizuno generally keeps to herself and after seeing how Kyo has forged a new relationship with Ryoko, does not pursue her former relationship. She appears to know more about the Gards-orms that she is admitting. "Yehl" is the creation god in Tlingit mythology.

Shima (Tomohiro Tsuboi)

The president of the Student Council at Kyo's school, but also revealed to be the commander of the Oceanus, the base of operations for Kyo, Shizuno, and other Celebrants. Like Shizuno, there is more to him than meets the eye and he is only one who knows the true conditions of the present world. He and Shizuno had no prior history in the Maihama server before transferring to the Oceanus. It is later revealed that Shima's apparition (thus the reason why his Celebrant icon reads "CP-041" instead of his name) is actually a clone of his true self, a revolting Gards-orm who seeks to aid humanity's resurrection but remains with the Gards-orm. As a result, the data of his apparition has a different lifespan and is suffering dry damage. Shima means "Island" in Japanese.

Minato (Marina Inoue)

Originally from the Sydney server, Minato is the vice-president of the Student Council and Shima's second-in-command on board the Oceanus. She is generally cheerful and helpful towards Shima, who saved her when the Sydney server was being destroyed, but is often left out of the loop concerning Shima and Shizuno's plans. Minato's type of Celebrant icon is "CO-ADMINISTRATOR" and her surname is hidden like Shima and Yehl's.

Kawaguchi (Hiroyuki Yoshino)

One of Kyo's friends, a member of the Swim Club. He and Kyo haven't gotten along because Kyo broke up their old swim team and frequently ends up in fights with Kyo. They reconcile before the server is reset, an occurance that has repeated many times for the previous Kyo.

Ushio (Masayuki Katou)

One of Kyo's friends, a member of the Swim Club. He later dates Mizuki until the Maihama server is reset.

Hayase Touya (Hiroshi Kamiya)

One of Kyo's friends and a member of the Swim Club. He has shown signs of "awakening" and awareness that the world around him is a digital illusion, but does not become a Celebrant before the Maihama server is reset.

Tomigai Kei (Akeno Watanabe)

A friend of Kyo and Ryoko's. Like Hayase, he appeared to be in the process of "awakening" and becomes aware of the true nature of Maihama, but fails to become a Celebrant before the Maihama server is reset.

Mizuki (Yukana)

Ryoko's friend, another member of the Theater Club. She has feelings for Hayase, but was rejected. She later dates Ushio until the server is reset. Her favorite film is Last Year at Marienbad.

Kuroshio Hayato (Takanori Ohyama)

A member of the Student Council. He is a Celebrant and serves as an operator on the Oceanus. In the past, he was a Zegapain Gunner. He is from the Shizuoka server.

Irie Ayaka (Ryoko Ono)

A member of the Student Council. She is a Celebrant and acts as operator on the Oceanus. She was once Kuroshio's Wizard. She is from the Shizuoka server.

Kurashige (Yasunori Matsumoto)

Kyo's science and homeroom teacher at Maihama Minami High School. He is the sponsor for the Swim Club. He later proposes to Mizusawa, but the two do not get married before the Maihama server is reset. He is probably not a normal Meta‐Body because he cannot go out of the school and there is another appartion of him existing Shizuno's homeroom teacher.

Mizusawa (Rin Satou)

The nurse at Kyo's school, who appears to be close to Kurashige. She has noticed abnormalities with the world they live in, but has not shown any indication of awakening.

Kaminagi Kouji (Hiromi Ohtsuda)

Ryoko's younger brother, who enjoys playing the Pain of Zega game.

Kanou Tōru

A Celebrant who recorded the real Maihama shortly before he returned to the Maihama server. Tōru died in battle, but the server hides the reality of his death by saying that he is too sick to come to school. Ryoko uses Tōru's tape as the basis for a movie she intends to film, not knowing that her awareness of Tōru's existence is an indication of her possible awakening.

Tsumura Sachiko

A Celebrant and third year student at school who dated Hayase. Her apparition data was severely damaged and cannot be restored, so she does not appear in the Maihama server. The server copes with her loss (since too many deaths or disappearances would look suspicious to the unawakened people within) by not allowing people to meet her face to face whenever they wish to meet her. During each period of Maihama summer on the servers, Hayase is unaware of her disappearance despite the fact he shows signs of awakening.

Celebrant

Mao Lu-Shen (Paku Romi)

The Gunner of the Garuda. Generally calm and level-headed, Lu-Shen suspects that Shizuno knows more about the Gards-orm than she is willing to openly admit. Originally from the Shanghai server before it was corrupted, his father was the CEO of an investment company who heavily invested in iAL. While initially he had a low opinion of Kyo, Lu-Shen came to respect Kyo's abilities and sincere desire to protect the people he loved. On Episode 24, he kissed Kyo before his finally showdown and revealed that he loved Kyo all along.

Jen May-Yu (Yui Makino)

May-Yen's older twin sister, one of the Garuda's Wizards. She is also the limited ability to act as a Gunner for a Zegapain and has the Caladrius. Kyo considers her the bad-tempered one and he unwittingly upset her when the Shanghai server was destroyed. May-Yu is devoted to Lu-Shen. She is also from the Shanghai.

Jen May-Yen (Akeno Watanabe)

May-Yu's younger twin sister, one of the Garuda's Wizards, though she occasionally works as the Wizard for Chris after Arque's death. The bespectacled sister, Kyo calls her the cute one, much to May-Yu's chargin. Like May-Yu, May-Yen is devoted to Lu-Shen. She and her sister are from Shanghai.

File:Ep 08 - 05.png

Chris in the Hraevelg during combat

Chris Avenir (Hiroshi Yanaka)

One of the Hræsvelgr's pilots (the Gunner) and Arque's husband. He and Arque loved each other dearly; Kyo has sarcastically compared them to the French film "The Lovers of the Pont-Neuf" ("The Lovers on the Bridge" in English). After Arque's death, he continues to care for her dog, Pieta, who was named after the pub where he first proposed to Arque. Chris and Shizuno later become partners when Ryoko becomes the Altair's new wizard. His surname, Avenir, means "Future" in French.

Arque Avenir (Aya Hisakawa)

One of the Hræsvelgr's pilots (Wizard) and Chris' wife. She and Shizuno became friends when the Paris server still existed. Her memory has become severely damaged and only becomes worse each times she entangles. In the end, she sacrifices herself to force the Gards-orm to retreat back to their base while leaving a trail of particles for the Celebrants on the Oceanus to track.

Isola (Kazusa Murai)

The commander of the Dvaraka, a ship like the Oceanus. Chris and Arque were originally under her command until they chose to transfer to the Oceanus. She also appears to have known Shizuno before she transferred to the Oceanus because Isola comments that her comrades on board the Dvarlka wish to see Shizuno again. Isola means "Island" in Italian.

Toga Vital (Takahiro Sakurai)

The Altair's Gunner, who is under Isola's command; his personality is quite similar to Kyo's. He and Kyo meet for the first time in episode 22 and despite their clashing personalities, come to respect one another easily. Toga is the main character of Zegapain XOR. In XOR, he was salvaged by Shizuno, but like Kyo, he lost a lot of his memories.

Sarah (Miki Nagasawa)

One of the Altair's Wizards under Isola's command. She is partnered with Toga Vital and also appears in Zegapain XOR. Sarah was in love with Toga before he lost his memory.

Meivelle Transferre (Omi Minami)

One of the Altair's Wizards is under Isola's command. She is considered a genius Wizard of electric warfare and has 4 Celeb-icons. Like Sarah, she is partnered with Toga and also appears in Zegapain XOR.

Mio Readiness (Yui Horie)

One of the Altair's Wizards under Isola's command. In XOR, she is also partnered with Toga and appears to be responsible for his awakening after Shizuno salvages him. In the battle of the Moon server (anime episode 1), Mio unwittingly leaks the Celebrants' strategy to the Gards-orm because her Meta-Body data contains an observation program built in by the Gards-orm. The battle results in a devastating defeat and the loss of Kyo, Toga, Chris, and Arque.

Saw Verbbinski

The Garuda's Gunner, who is under Isola's command. Both Sarah and Meivelle have acted as his Wizard in battles.

Muelle

The vice-commander of the Dvaraka and the Hræsvelgr's Gunner.

Insel (Atsushi Ono)

The commander of the Corduax. Insel means "Island" in German.

Île

The commander of the Deukalio. In the Project Resurrection, the Deukalio was destroyed by the Coatlicue. Île means "Island" in French.

Dao-Yu (Tarou Yamaguchi)

The commander of the Cagayan. In the Project Resurrection, the Cagayan was destroyed by the Coatlicue's Banishment mode. Dao means "Island" in Chinese.

Ostrova

The commander of an Oceanus class ship. Ostrova means "Island" in Russian.

Nisos

The commander of an Oceanus class ship. Nisos means "Island" in Greek.

AI

Lemures (Shinpachi Tsuji)

One of the Oceanus class ship' AIs. He is the captain of the Oceanus and executes Shima and Minato's orders. He is the Deputy Administrator (commander) of the Oceanus class ship Popol Vuh.

Talbot (Fumihiko Tachiki)

One of the Oceanus class ship' AIs. He acts as the secondary captain of the Oceanus. He can control the Caladrius.

Fosetta (Junko Okada)

One of the Oceanus class ship' AIs. She mainly supports transfering the Zegapain, but is also responsible of monitoring interior sensors onboard Oceanus. She is destroyed when Sin infiltrates the Oceanus and reinstalled as Fosetta II. Her personality is markedly different after her installation; Fosetta II is unusually cold compared to Fosetta. She is also capable of controlling the Caladrius.

Ricerca (Mai Kadowaki)

One of the Oceanus class ship' AIs. She also mainly supports transfering the Zegapain and is capable of controlling the Caladrius.

Dita (Eri Nakao)

One of the Oceanus class ship' AIs. She is monitors and directs the management and strategic functions of the Zegapain.

zega AI (mai)

The programming the conveys the conditions of the Zegapain to the flight crew (Gunner and Wizard). It apparently is multilingual as it adjusts accordingly to the pilots' native tongue.

Gards-orm

Abyss (Masayuki Katou)

One of the people with "light" who are constantly launching assaults on those without "light" in Anti-Zegapain ships in order to destroy servers. Referred to as the Demon Soldier of the Gards-orm, he is almost incomprehensable to the Celebrants. He and Sin can revive themselves numerous times because once their bodies are destroyed, the can simply transfer their data and awaken in new body.

Sin (Yukana)

Abyss' female partner, who is as strong as he is. She manages to infiltrate the Oceanus with a childlike desire to understand why the Celebrants continue to fight, specifically questioning Minato, Lu-Shen, Kyo, and Ryoko. She also seems to be aware of a link between Misaki Shizuno (Yehl) and Gards-orm. When Ryoko presents her an answer she particularly likes, she transfers part of her data to Ryoko to restore her apparition, though Ryoko's emotional component data remains trapped in the Altair.

Naga

The CEO of iAL Corporations, who advocated limitless human evolution through quantum servers where humanity will live eternally. Naga exists as the quantum computer, but is the leader of the Gards-orm who seek to destroy humanity. The etymology is a very large snake in Hinduism and Buddhism.

A Buddhist priest (Susumu Chiba)

Shima's original Meta-Body. He was Naga's aide and initially supported Naga's technology first; he volunteered to become the first person to become a Meta-Body. He developed the Resurrection System and Layered QL and was waiting for the Oceanus to come his server.

Terms

META-Body DATA

People who live in a quantum server.

Quantum Server

A computer in which a simulated world exists. Three hundred or more servers were once running in the world. Since the GARDS-ORM began destroying the servers, only 11 remain intact.

Celebrant

A member of Celebram. A person who "awakens" from the simulated world and becomes able to see that their surrounding is simulated. He/She is accepted into Celebram once he/she is fully "awakened".

Celebram

An organisation which exists to protect the inhabitants of the quantum servers.

Holonic Loader

A generic term of Zegapain Altair, Garuda, Hræsvelgr, and Caladrius. Originally, they were developed to repair the quantum server.

Zegapain

A giant fighting robot developed by Shima. There are four varieties and are named for birds in mythology or birds of constellation.

Gunner

A pilot in control of the movements and weapons of a Zegapain. Most Gunners are male, though some females, like May-Yu, possess the talent to act as a Gunner.

Wizard

A pilot in control of switching weapons, monitoring battle information, and the technical maintenance of the Zegapain. Wizards who possesses an almost telepathic link with the Gunner as a result of a strong bond which allows their data to mesh are referred to as witches. Ryoko is one such pilot and is capable of predicting and modifying the Zegapain according to what Kyo needs in battle without him asking. Wizards are usually female, though it is not unheard of for a male to possess the ability to act as a Wizard.

GARDS-ORMS

The enemy of Celebram. They also live in a quantum server as a META-Body Data, but also have a real body and can be revived countless times. The etymology is Midgardsormr, a serpent of the Norse mythology and GARDS-ORM's robots are named for the snake or the annelid.

A def-terraformed sphere (or DEFUTERA AREA)

A spherical area where the GARDS-ORM is conducting terraforming experiments.

Dry Damage

Damage taken to a celebrant's physical form. This type of damage can be repaired using average META-body DATA of humans.

Wet Damage

Damage taken to a celebrant's memories. This type of damage cannot be repaired and is considered permanent damage to the celebrant's apparaition.

DATA Salvage

The attempted recovery of an apparition data in the event of a transmission failure during quantum transfer.

A.I.Character

An artificial intelligence, presented with a 2-dimensional holographic form.

QL

Fuel in this world. QL stands for 'Quantum Loaded energy'.

Holonic Armor

The armor of Holonic Loader. It is projected as a concentrated element of light. It cannot be destroyed as long as QL remains. However, the armor can be 'cancelled' using a light wave with an opposing wave.

Holonic Armor Canceller

The weapon of Anti-Zega Coatlicue. It can make the Holonic Armor useless by projecting a light wave with an opposing phase.

Holo-Bolt

The new weapon of the Holonic Loader. Kyo uses this as 'Holobolt Pressure', Toga uses this as 'Holobolt Gravity' and Lu-Shen uses this as 'Holobolt Breaker'. 'Holobolt Pressure' destroyed the Anti-Zega Coatlicue's Holonic Armor. It uses all the QL.

Holo-Bullet Sparrow

The new weapon of the Altair. It is emited from the holonic wing and pursues the target.

Pellucidar Mode

The Oceanus class ship's stealth　system. The Garuda also has this system.

GASPER Cannon

The Oceanus class ship's main armament. GASPER probably stands for 'Gravity Acceleration System PowerEd Rail-gun'.

Esaki Perforator

The system that infiltrates the Oceanus to def-terraformed sphere. Esaki is probably Leo Esaki, one of the physicists who discover the phenomenon of Quantum tunnelling.

Gards-Orm Mechs

Szel

A bipedal design resembling a hybrid of bird and feline, seen in episode 1 on the moon.

Sanv

An aerial unit with two bulky limbs for gripping, and twin cannons built into the shoulders.

Surv

The most common unit, an aerial model with a single beam cannon.

Sgone

Resembles a spindle, invulnervable to Zega's weaponry when closed.

Scobral

A four-limbed unit with thick claws.

Santico

Nicknamed 'Coatlicue' by Celebrum, it can nullify Holonic armor and resembles Zegapain Garuda. Coatlicue is a goddess from Aztec mythology.

Solv

A spherical unit.

Shzm

A gaunt humanoid design with multiple rocket launchers.

Snos

Resembles a gaint nautlius or ammonite.

Svrjm

An aerial transport resembling a giant snake.

Anime staff

• Director: Masami Shimoda (Saber-Marionette)
• Series Organization: Mayori Sekishima (Saber-Marionette)
• Character Conception: Hiroyuki Hataike
• Character Design: Akihiko Yamashita
• Mecha Design: Rei Nakahara (Nadesico-the Motion Picture)

Music (Anime)

Opening

• Kimi e Mukau Hikari (eps 1-) by Akino Arai

Endings

• Little Goodbye (eps 1-9, 11-21, 23-) by Rocky Chack
• And You (eps 10) by Rocky Chack
• Last Blue (ラストブルー) (eps 22) by Rocky Chack

Episodes

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Game version

There are two games based on Zegapain under the developement by Cavia Inc. (best known for SquareEnix's Drakengard series) for Xbox 360. The first game, published by Bandai, is called Zegapain XOR and was releasted in Japan on July 27, 2006.

A second game titled Zegapain NOT will be released on December 7, 2006 in Japan. The main character is Toga Dupe, Toga Vital's lost character and memory data salvaged by Gards-orm, who controls the Anti-Zega Coatlicue.

Manga version

The manga by Gou Yabuki, Zegapain Gaiden: AI AlWAYS, is serialized in the monthly Dengeki Daioh from August 2006 to October 2006. An online comic, currently with six chapters released, also appears on the official site for Zegapain XOR.

See also

• Quantum computer
• Quantum entanglement

External links

• Template:Languageicon Official site
• Template:Languageicon ZEGAPAIN WIKI
• Template:Languageicon Zegapain XOR Official site
• Template:Language icon ANN's Zegapain entry