This is a list of fictional characters featured in the Cosmic Era (CE) timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. These characters appear in the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny anime television series, the sequel film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, and in the manga and OVA spinoffs. Both series focus on the raging conflict between Naturals and Coordinators, the former being regular humans and the latter being genetically-enhanced ones.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED begins when the neutral space colony Heliopolis is attacked by ZAFT, a military organization composed of Coordinators. Coordinator Kira Yamato pilots the mobile suit GAT-X105 Strike to protect his friends on the Naturals' ship Archangel from potential enemies as they head towards Earth. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny continues two years after Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and follows the teenager Shinn Asuka and his duties in ZAFT.
Protagonists
Kira Yamato
is a first-generation Coordinator, who lives on the neutral space colony Heliopolis to avoid war between the races of Coordinators and the Naturals, but such area ends involved in the war. Born as a Coordinator, Kira is the only person able to pilot the Strike mobile suit created by the Naturals, and is forced to pilot it into numerous battles to protect his friends. In Gundam Seed, Kira uses the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam until it was severely damage and would later gain the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam and the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam in Gundam Seed Destiny. He also pilots the STSS-909 Rising Freedom in Gundam Seed Freedom until it was destroyed during the battle with the Black Knights and would later pilot a rebuild version of the Strike Freedom, the ZGMF/A-262B Strike Freedom Type II, which receives a further upgrade in the climax of the film with a new backpack, the MDE262S Proud Defender, to become the ZGMF/A-262PD-P Mighty Strike Freedom. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Sōichirō Hoshi. In English, he is voiced by Matt Hill in the Ocean dub and by Max Mittelman in the NYAV dub.
Athrun Zala
is a member of the military organization, ZAFT. Participating in the war between the Coordinators and the Naturals, Athrun discovers that his childhood friend, Kira Yamato became a member of the Naturals' military organization, the Earth Alliance, despite being a Coordinator. Across the series, Athrun encounters Kira various times and after almost killing him, Athrun starts questioning his own motives to participate in the war. In Gundam Seed, Athrun would use the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam until Athrun self-destructed the Aegis while grappling the Strike, destroying both units. He would later gain the ZGMF-X09A Justice Gundam and use the mobile suit for the rest of the series until it was destroyed inside GENESIS by activating the self destruct. In Gundam Seed Destiny, Athrun used ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam until it was destroyed by the Freedom in a battle. Athrun would later use the ZGMF-X19A ∞ Justice Gundam for the rest of the series. He is voiced in Japanese by Akira Ishida. In English, he is voiced by Sam Vincent in the Ocean dub and by Chris Hackney in the NYAV dub.
Lacus Clyne
is a good natured and popular female vocalist from the space colony PLANT. She is the daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman, Siegel Clyne. Born as a Coordinator, Lacus is introduced when she is found in space by the Archangel, a ship of Naturals and befriends the Coordinator Kira Yamato. Late in the war between the races of Coordinators and Naturals, Lacus becomes the co-leader of the Clyne Faction, stealing the Freedom Gundam to give to Kira Yamato, and then later stealing the space battleship Eternal and joining with the battleship Archangel to stop both sides from fighting. Lacus is voiced in the Japanese series by Rie Tanaka. In the Ocean English dub, Chantal Strand is her regular voice actress, while Jillian Michaels does her singing voice. In the NYAV dub, she is voiced by Stephanie Sheh.
Cagalli Yula Athha
is one of the Naturals, fighting against the Coordinators in an ongoing war. Despite fighting on the battlefield various times alongside the Naturals' military organization the Earth Alliance, Cagalli is later revealed to be daughter of the leader from the neutral country of Orb. After helping her new allies to stop the war, Cagalli becomes the leader of Orb, a role mainly explored in the series' sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. During the series, Cagalli is later revealed to be Kira Yamato's sister. In Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny Cagalli uses the MBF-02 Strike Rouge, though she later pilots the ORB-01 Akatsuki once in the latter series. Cagalli is voiced by Naomi Shindō (2002-2005) and Nanako Mori (2024) in Japanese. In English, she is voiced by Vanessa Morley in the Ocean dub and by Cherami Leigh in the NYAV dub.
Shinn Asuka
is the anti-hero in Gundam Seed Destiny. He is a member from the military organization ZAFT who joined them after his family was killed during a previous war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, and bears an enormous hatred towards his home country Orb for not protecting them. Across the series, Shinn starts questioning his motives to fight for ZAFT, but is still determined to follow their orders. In Gundam Seed Destiny, Shinn used the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam and would later use the ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Kenichi Suzumura. In English, he was voiced by Matthew Erickson in the Ocean dub and by Aaron Phillips in the NYAV dub.
Lunamaria Hawke is a mobile suit pilot for the ZAFT military forces. She attended ZAFT military academy together with her sister Meyrin Hawke and fellow pilots Shinn Asuka and Rey Za Burrel. She typically pilots a red ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior but is given Shinn's mobile suit, Impulse, after he receives Destiny. Initially, she is attracted to Athrun Zala, but after Athrun and Meyrin's apparent death, she begins a relationship with Shinn. Lunamaria starts having doubts about fighting against the Archangel when learning that Meyrin is alive, but with the Archangel crew. After ZAFT's defeat, she reunites with her sister. In the 27th Anime Grand Prix she was voted 5th place in the Favorite Female category however in the 28th one she dropped to 11th place. Lunamaria came in 4th in the 56th Gundam National Census asking fans what character from the series would they want to see in swimming suit. She is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese. In English, she is voiced by Maryke Hendrikse in the Ocean dub and by Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld in the NYAV dub.
Antagonists
ZAFT/PLANT Council Rau Le Creuset is an elite ZAFT commander, a skilled mobile suit pilot, and an adept tactician, whose abilities are greatly valued by the ZAFT leadership. He always appears in public with his unique mask covering his face. He becomes famous early in the war during the Battle of Yggdrasil, using his ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type mobile suit to destroy thirty-seven Earth Alliance mobile armors and six warships. Despite this fame, he is later revealed a danger to all of humanity and ultimately emerges as the series' main antagonist.
His birth name is , the direct clone of Mu La Flaga's father, Al Da Flaga. Rau possesses spatial awareness, a trait he apparently inherited from his "father" and shares with his "brother" Mu. However, Rau has short telomeres within his DNA that cause him rapid aging problems. This is done intentionally, so that Rau can catch up to Mu in age and replace him. Rau takes a drug that stabilizes his aging; if he goes too long without taking the medication, he suffers intense pain. Rau adopted a misanthrophic position, deciding that all humans, Naturals and Coordinators, are not deserving to live, and plans the destruction of both.
In the final battle of the war, Rau pilots the ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam, the final ZAFT suit. He battles with Kira Yamato in the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, who manages to surpass him. Before being finished, Rau and his mobile suit are destroyed by the self-destruction of GENESIS, dying with a smile on his face. In Gundam SEED Destiny, Gilbert Durandal, Rau's former friend and doctor, often imagines Rau conversing with him. He also appears in the final episode to Rey Za Burrel, another clone from Al who he was close with. He is voiced by Toshihiko Seki in Japanese. In English, he is voiced by Mark Oliver in the Ocean dub and by Kevin T. Collins in the NYAV Post dub.
Patrick Zala , father of Athrun Zala, is the National Defense Committee Chairman who leads the radical faction of the PLANT Supreme Council. He lost his wife, Lenore Zala, in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy and blames all Naturals for her death. His grief over the death of his wife, Lenore, made him a man driven by hatred and revenge. This makes him easily manipulated by ZAFT Commander Rau Le Creuset, whom Patrick believes to be his right-hand man. Upon taking over the Plant Supreme Council, he emerges as one of the series' primary antagonists.
Zala has ZAFT construct the GENESIS superweapon and uses it in an effort to destroy all Naturals. Zala soon manages to destroy the Earth Alliance space fleet along with their lunar base at the Ptolemaeus Crater, effectively winning the battle. However, Zala orders the GENESIS to attack the Atlantic Federation capital, Washington. ZAFT Commander Ray Yuki protests such an action, as it would wipe out half of all life on Earth, for which Zala then shoots him. In his dying breath Yūki mortally wounds Zala. As he lies dying in Athrun's arms, Patrick tells his son to fire GENESIS on Earth and make his vision of a Coordinators' world come true. He is voiced by Kinryu Arimoto in Japanese. In English, he is voiced by Andrew Kavadas in the Ocean dub and by Marc Diraison the NYAV Post dub.
Eileen Canaver is a member of PLANT Supreme Council and Diplomatic Committee Chairwoman during the First Alliance-PLANT War. She represents the colony "September City" and her academic specialty is in information science.
In the closing days of the First Alliance-PLANT War, Canaver led Clyne Faction loyalists in a coup d'état of radical ZAFT leadership, before opening the PLANTs to negotiations with the Earth Alliance, after which, she became the Chairwoman of the Provisional Supreme Council. She was forced to resign after the signing of the Junius Treaty, which put the PLANTs at a significant disadvantage, and was succeeded by Gilbert Durandal. She is voiced by Naomi Shindō in Japanese. In English, she is Lisa Ann Beley in the Ocean dub and by Erin Fitzgerald in the NYAV dub.
Gilbert Durandal is the chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council and a member of the moderate political faction. Durandal is a man of science and medicine rather than politics, with the stated agenda of ending all conflicts between humans, especially the chasm between the Naturals and the Coordinators, i.e. the Earth and PLANT. Before he was Chairman of PLANT, Durandal was a brilliant young physician specializing in genetics and advanced biomedical techniques. He also was a friend of Rau Le Creuset, who was also his patient. Rau's inability to understand the purpose of his existence helped Durandal form his opinions about a perfect world society. Durandal also had a relationship with later Minerva Captain Talia Gladys but she left him because she wanted a child.