List of Full Metal Panic! characters
Main characters
Sousuke Sagara
Sergent Sousuke Sagara is the main protagonist of the series. He is of Afghan Japanese heritage. While he is inherently Japanese due to his name, Sagara grew up in Helmajistan, a region in Afghanistan that was caught up in political strife. At age 8, he joined a guerrilla movement to survive, and was eventually recruited by Mithril. Sousuke only knows military life and as a result he does not handle the everyday occurrences of civilian life very well. He also has a tough time integrating into high school life as his social skills are not quite up to par. His military bearing and encyclopedic knowledge of weapons earns him the nickname 'Military Maniac'. The basic problem this causes is, for instance, how he blows up the shoes lockers if there is any clue that someone has tampered with them. Sousuke can be quite insensitive at times, for example in volume 7 he bought a pregnancy test while out with Kaname and did not understand what was wrong, though his intentions are always in the right place. His deep feelings for Chidori Kaname are unavoidably clear by the beginning of TSR when he punches his fist through a laptop with the message of his direct order to not contact her anymore. Sousuke eventually decides to give up his life as a soldier and retires from Mithril, deciding that he wanted to be with Chidori instead. Upon his return, Sousuke confirms his feelings for Chidori and the two share a kiss in the school court yard.Also, he was formerly known as 'Kashim' according to Gauron.
Kaname Chidori
Kaname Chidori is the heroin of the series. She is often described as, 'The kind of girl everyone looks up to, but not even a boy wants as their girlfriend', as a fellow male student put it. She's very much the loud mouth, speak your mind kind of girl; a trait she picked up when she studied abroad in the United States. Until then, she feels like she must protect Sousuke from the harsh, cruel world of high school - a place where he doesn't quite fit.Sousuke is assigned to guard her as she is one of the "Whispered". People that have in their subconscious very technologically advanced knowledge that numerous governments and other groups want to use for their own means.
She often uses a paper fan to hit Sousuke, besides berating him on how the kinds of weapons he uses are not exactly proper for a high school student. While she criticizes Sousuke for being too militaristic and overprotective, she appreciates it under life or death situations. Chidori develops serious feelings for Sousuke and is dejected when he is so obtuse in such matters. Eventually Chidori confesses her love to Sousuke and the latter reciprocates it.
Teresa "Tessa" Testarossa
Teresa Testarossa is the Captain of the Mithril's submarine Tuatha de Danaan. She is a young girl of 16 who has a crush on Sousuke and bears the weight of Mithril's mission - to make the world safer by destroying terrorist organizations and drug facilities. Tessa is young, and therefore, hasn't lost that optimism that she can make a difference. She is also stubborn and will try her hardest to prove wrong those who tell her she can't do something. Still, most of her crew sees her as weak and frail - someone who never got her hands dirty on the battle field and therefore can't defend herself.Kurz Weber
Sergent Kurz WeberKurz first appears to your typical lady's man, yet he is often the one giving Sousuke advice about life and love. He's a laid back kind of guy who won't dodge responsibility if it comes his way, and is one of the finest snipers in Mithril. Kurz is shot down by his mentor Casper in Volume 13 of the Manga. Later on it was found out that he survived.
Melissa Mao
Sergent Major Melissa Mao is the superior officer of both Sousuke and Kurz and demands respect for her role. She is also a spunky woman who loves beer, smokes a lot, and wishes she could be free spirited and optimistic like Tessa. She was originally a member of the Marines, signing her recruitment contract on the day she was supposed to marry a businessman her father had pushed onto her. Eventually, she left the Marines and joined Mithril, where she met Kurz and Sousuke as new recruits. The two were downplaying their skills intentionally, Kurz pretending to be a terrible shot and Sousuke purposefully scoring low on written exams. Eventually, she realized what they were doing and picked them out of the camp to be her new teammates.Gauron
Gauron is Full Metal Panic's main antagonist. He's an especially twisted and violent mercenary deeply involved in the black market and global terrorism. Despite possessing an extremely vile personality, his ruthless cunning and mastery of the Lambda Drive system make him a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. In combat, his vehicle of choice is the super AS called Venom.Mithril
Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin
Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin is Sagara's commanding officer and one of Tessa's military strategists with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, fulfilling the role of Operations Director. He is also the foster father of Sagara. He and Sousuke were once enemies, as mentioned in a two-part episode by Sagara himself. The foster father status may be on the school's official papers only but Kalinin is certainly a very fatherly figure to Sagara. Kalinin was formerly of the Soviet special forces - Spetsnaz - and was the leader of the team that found a crashed Japanese airliner. There was only one survivor: a three-year-old child by the name of Sagara Sousuke. His wife is deceased and the whereabouts and status of the rest of his family is unknown. There is speculation that Kalinin has betrayed Mithril to Amalgam, due to his meeting with Leonard Testarossa at the end of the book 'Dancing Very Merry Christmas' and also due to his mysterious disappearance and attitude during the raid by Amalgam on Mérida Island. Kalinin later appears in 'Tsudou Make My Day' at Leonard's villa, apparently as one of Leonard's subordinates. He later shoots Leonard in the chest before Leonard could detonate the TARTAROS system along with Mérida Island. In a final knife-battle with Sousuke, he is mortally wounded by Sousuke just before the nuclear missile hits the island.Kalinin mentioned that he had difficulty maintaining family ties, mostly with his wife, due to his time spent with the Spetsnaz. He seems to be of a family man sort and loves his wife so much that he made the Borscht that his wife made him as he returns from missions. He operates under the codename Perth 1.
Richard Mardukas
Richard Mardukas is an overly protective aide of Tessa's who insists on guarding her with his life. He holds the rank of Commander and is in charge of Mithril's TDD-1 when the Captain, Testarossa, is not on board; appropriate, given that Mardukas' position is that of Executive Officer. Mardukas is often seen wearing a hat bearing the name of HMS Turbulent, a real British submarine.Prior to joining Mithril, Mardukas was the Commanding Officer of HMS Turbulent, and a graduate & instructor of the Royal Navy's "Perisher" course: the submarine equivalent to the US Navy's famed "Top Gun" Fighter Weapons School. According to the FMP novel A Dancing Very Merry Christmas, Mardukas was known to the submarine community as a genius of submarine warfare, leading to his nickname "Duke"; he also served on HMS Conqueror when it sank the General Belgrano, and while commanding the Turbulent saved Tessa's father and his submarine on a secret mission. Many of his peers in the submarine community, such as Commander Killy B. Sailor, CO of the USS Pasadena, believe Mardukas to be working in a shipping firm after his retirement. A running gag throughout the series is that he usually ends up giving sermons to lower officers on deck.
Belfangan Clouseau (Ben)
SRT team's current team leader, callsign Urzu-1, first appearance in the novel 'End of Day By Days' and the 2nd anime series Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, replacing Captain Gail McAllen after his death near the end of the novel 'Rocking into The Blue'. Pilot of the M9D Falke and was a part of MITHRIL's Mediterranean Sea Fleet. His first introduction into the team was kind of unorthodox, ticking off Kurz Weber and Sousuke Sagara by saying McAllen was a coward after sitting on the chair he used to sit on while in reality, McAllen was one of his most trusted teammates and a good friend. Proved himself to be an expert martial artist by incapacitating Kurz with just one move and defeating Sousuke and the Arbalest during the 'test' which he conducted. He also proved to be a capable leader when he made Sousuke understand why he lost and told him that it wasn't his skill as they were actually evenly matched in that aspect but rather his hatred for the Arbalest and tells him that an Arm Slave is like a part of their own bodies. Since then Kurz and him don't really see eye-to-eye, though they have developed a grudging respect for each other's abilities. It is also known that he & Melissa Mao have known each other since way back. His nickname from Mao was 'Ben'. He was also one of the few remaining survivors of the attack on Melida island, along with Melissa Mao, Kurz Weber, Richard Mardukas, Teletha Testarossa and most of the crew of the Tuatha de Danaan at the end of the novel 'Continuing on My Own'.In the TSR OVA, it is revealed that he is an anime otaku in his spare time.
His surname is also known as Grouseaux. In the Ending of Day by Days novel, Belfangan states to the bartender in Mérida Island that he was a Muslim.
Vincent Bruno
An American MITHRIL officer in Intelligence with the rank of Captain, he was supposedly responsible for communications maintenance in the Nanjing hostage rescue operation. He, however, leaked it to Gates and several Amalgam commandos, using the information to ambush SRT/PRT members, killing some of them. In return, Admiral Borda allowed a snatch operation to take place, which resulted in his capture and some strains in the relationship between the Tactical and Intelligence divisions. During his interrogation in Sydney, Vincent confesses that Amalgam had hired him to botch the Nanjing operation. He previously operated under the codename Ogma-1.His surname can also be spelt as Blueno. Vincent speaks Italian aside from English.
Gavin Hunter
A supposed native of Hong Kong and an officer in MITHRIL Intelligence's Hong Kong division, he was responsible for providing tactical support for Melissa, Sousuke and other SRT/PRT personnel deployed in Hong Kong to locate a rogue Amalgam Codarl Arm Slave that went berserk in Hong Kong and Kowloon. Gavin is also married and has a family.He's known to the Hong Kong public as a businessman with multiple businesses in operation, such as the Hunter Cleaning Company Ltd. that Gavin used when he provided Melissa's squad with Hunter Cleaning Company Ltd. Toyota Hiace vans and uniforms to infiltrate Hong Kong and Kowloon without being caught by the North and South Chinese army and police.
He can be considered to be MITHRIL's humor character as Gates is to Amalgam's since he always smile and almost never gets angry, except when he was instructed by General Amit to cease Intelligence operations in Hong Kong territory.
Nora Lemming
An engineer based in Mérida Island with the rank of Second Lieutenant, Nora has worked on the Lambda Driver, particularly on its potential continuous application after MITHRIL realizes that Amalgam's Arm Slaves has the ability to continuously use their own Lambda Driver.Previously, Nora had conducted some studies on the Chodarl Arm Slave when it was captured from Gauron. She is a graduate of MIT and was responsible for the Arbalest after Bunny Morauta had died.
It is hinted at in the novels that she is in an intimate relationship with Lieutenant Commander Kalinin.
Jerome Borda
The leader of Mithril's Operations department with the rank of admiral. He was the one to order Sousuke to give up his position as a high school student at Jindai High in The Second Raid and the book 'The End by Day by Day'. He is presumed dead after an explosion rocked through Operations Headquarters in Sydney following the beginning of Amalgam's attack on Mithril, however it was eventually revealed he survived and is intending to rebuild Mithril. Borda is intended to be an homage to the late Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, the 25th Chief of Naval Operations of the US Navy. His surname can also be spelt as Boda or Voda.Tessa calls him "Uncle Jerry" in the Second Raid, hinting Borda's familiarity with Tessa and her family as Borda was the superior to Tessa's late father.
Roy Seals
A retired NAVSPECWAR officer, Seals was one of the founding members of Mithril. His role in the organization is unknown, but he was one of the few members of Mithril's inner circle to survive assassination. He acquires an M6A3 Dark Bushnell, a USSOCOM M6, for Sousuke to use in his assault on Leonard's lair. Sousuke describes Seals as "...like Kurz, fifty years old, and more perverted."Mayer Amit
The leader of Mithril's Intelligence department with the rank of General and of Israeli descent. He was the one to order [|Wraith] to discreetly observe and passively protect Kaname Chidori.Before joining MITHRIL, Mayer was supposedly a top agent for Mossad.
Wraith
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara ; Christopher Ayres, Elizabeth MaxwellA North Korean ex-spy, who is also a master of disguise. As a member of the Intelligence Department, she was ordered to watch Kaname and protect her from serious threats. Although appearing cold at first, following her 'rescue' by Kaname from Leonard Testarossa, she has opened up slightly and secretly meets with Kaname. She also saved Sousuke and Kyoko's lives from Amalgam members on the Jindai High School rooftop and aided in the defusing of the bomb planted on Kyoko. She even went as far to perform emergency surgery on Kyoko after a piece of shrapnel embedded itself inside her diaphragm and then took her to the hospital. Showing further compassion, she also allowed Kaname Chidori to give herself up to Leonard so Sousuke's life would be spared, despite violating her orders. After the events in "Continue On My Own", she is still helping Mithril, helping Gavin Hunter to complete the construction of ARX-8 Laevatein at the end of the novel 'Burning One Man Force', and has actually helped to transport the completed Laevatein to Sousuke in the progress of "Get Together and Make My Day". Though serious about her duties, she seems to enjoy making Sousuke react by putting him on edge, like pointing a laser sight at Kagurazaka-sensei as "revenge" for having to watch over Kaname during the winter while Sousuke gets to stay indoors.
Lord Mallory
The current head of MITHRIL's General Council. He is also responsible for overseeing MITHRIL's day-to-day operations. During the Second Raid series, he was the one who gave the order to MITHRIL officers to devise anti-infiltration countermeasures when he learned of Vincent Bruno's defection after the Nanking disaster.Based on his mannerisms, his clothing and his title, it is safe to assume that Lord Mallory is of British descent.
Amalgam
Leonard Testarossa
A child prodigy and Whispered like his younger twin sister, Teletha, he is known as "Mr. Silver" in the executive circle of the Amalgam organization. He also claims to be in love with Kaname Chidori, and has earned her contempt by stealing her first kiss. In The Second Raid he is chaperoned by two miniature ASs. It is speculated that his special Whispered knowledge has allowed the creation of the Codarl and Codarl-m type AS types, the miniature Alastor types and the Leviathan-type underwater fighter/AS hybrids. In the novel, Continuing On My Own, he is seen piloting the near invincible Belial type AS, and shows the strength of the machine and himself as a pilot by completely obliterating the Arbalest, and taking away Kaname. In Always, Stand By Me part II, Kalinin kills him before he can detonate the TARTAROS system along with Mérida Island.Admiral Borda is familiar with him, aside from Tessa and their parents. However, Admiral Borda doesn't know about Leonard's ties to Amalgam.
Xia Yu Lan
A Chinese-born assassin, raised by Gauron alongside her twin sister Xia Yu Fan. She and her elder sister, Xia Yu Fan, were ordered by Gauron to finish off Kaname Chidori in order to mentally break down Sousuke since Gauron knew that he was attached to her ever since Sousuke was assigned to be Kaname's bodyguard. Later in Japan, she was killed by Leonard's man-size Arm Slave bodyguard named Alastor by strangling her to death, her corpse being used by Gates to mock Xia Yu Fan. She wears a vest with red linings on it.Early on, Yu Lan raises her disgust with Gates, the earliest in Balic when Gates shoves the barrel of his CZ-75 pistol on her mouth when Yu Lan mocked his sympathy for a dead Amalgam commando when he shot him in the head without a second thought.
In combat, she used dual machetes. Aside from this, she is an expert in using throwing knives and is fairly proficient in the use of small arms. She is sixteen years old.
Xia Yu Fan
Another Chinese-born assassin raised by Gauron and the "eldest" with the Xia siblings. She and Xia Yu Lan were given the last orders by Gauron to finish off Kaname after being crippled by Sousuke's Arbalest. Yu Fan is a proficient Arm Slave pilot, using a Zy-98 Shadow Arm Slave before using a stolen Chodarl in central Hong Kong. However, she is also good in using small arms and is an expert in unarmed combat. She wears a trench coat with green linings on.In the last episode, Yu Fan reveals that the Xia siblings were at odds with Amalgam, mostly for wiping out their town in China during the Second Chinese Civil War. She is sixteen years old.
Gates
An original character for the television animation 'Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid'. He takes over the character Mr K from the light novels.An Amalgam agent and the head of Amalgam's Execution Squads, Gates seems to have two personalities. He is known to kill his subordinates whenever he messes up an operation, hears that an Amalgam-sponsored mission is a failure and when he is angry. Gates kills through a variety of methods including shooting an Amalgam commando in the head when he back talked and crushing Xia Yu Fan's Shadow Arms Slave with extreme ferocity. He is also shown to be highly abusive of his subordinates with him kicking his second in command off a helicopter and nearly drowning him in a pool.
Despite such brutality, Gates showed his intelligence by being able to deduce accurately the tactics that MITHRIL's Special Response Team utilised in their intervention of the Balic civil war. At one point, Gates began to sing Ave Maria while Xia Yu Lan and a group of Amalgam commandos began to kill every armed Balic soldier. One light side about Gates is that he is protective about himself, especially about being bald since the front of his head shows no hair present. Gates is killed by Sousuke when he uses the Arbalest's Lambda Driver in full power to defeat his Codarl Arm Slave. Gates is shown to be accepting of his fate by playing with a strand of his hair saying "Maybe I cut it too long?" while his machine was facing total destruction.
It can be assumed that Gates was known as "Mr. Kalium" throughout Amalgam, as in the light novel, A Dancing Very Merry Christmas. It is said that Gauron was responsible for the death of Mr. Kalium.
It is shown that he is also a sexual deviant. He proves this by saying how even though Xia Yu Lan and Xia Yu Fan were underage he did not hold back to "satisfying" them as well as himself leading him to being a pedophile. He also calls them Lolita-kun when taunting them for escaping. When he manages to acquire the body one of the girls it makes references to the idea that he will dabble in a spot of necrophilia with either or both of the girls bodies. In the same scene where he finds out that the girls have escaped, it depicts him being interrupted in the process of masturbating over the image of kittens on his wide screen TV. A truly twisted individual, that when concluding his communication with Xia Yu Lan and Xia Yu via his television he returns to his previous channel which is now depicting squirrels. It would seem that on top of pedophilia he has a penchant for bestiality, at least so far with small "cute" mammals. Gates can speak some Mandarin aside from English.