Lacus Clyne
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| Lacus Clyne | |
|---|---|
 Lacus Clyne in Gundam SEED OVA |
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| Genetic type: | Coordinator |
| DOB: | February 5, CE 55 |
| Age: | 16 [GS] 18 [GSD] |
| Nationality: | PLANT [GS] United Emirates of Orb [GSD] |
| Allegiance: |  ZAFT [GS]Clyne Faction [GS] Three Ship Alliance [GS] United Emirates of Orb [GSD] Terminal [GSD] |
| Rank/Position: | Leader of the Clyne Faction [GS] Co-Leader of Terminal [GSD] |
| Family: | Siegel Clyne (father, deceased) mother (unnamed, deceased) |
| Love Interests: | Athrun Zala (former fiance) Kira Yamato |
| Height: | 158 cm [GS] 160 cm [GSD] |
| Weight: | 53 kg [GS] 49 kg [GSD] |
| Blood type: | B |
| Ethnic Origin: | Scandinavian |
| Mobile Suit: | ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice [GSD] (Used only once) |
Lacus Clyne (transliterated as Rakusu Kurain [ラクス・クライン; Luxas Kline] in the original Japanese version) is a fictional character from the anime series Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. She is a popular female vocalist and the co-leader of the Clyne Faction. She is voiced by Rie Tanaka in the original Japanese version and by Chantal Strand in the English dub (Jillian Michaels provides her English singing voice).
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[edit] Gundam SEED
Lacus Clyne is the daughter of PLANT Supreme Council chairman Siegel Clyne. She is a Coordinator whose career as an idol singer has brought her enormous popularity in the PLANTs. She is engaged to Athrun Zala mainly out of political expediency, although they do get along well. According to a drama CD, they once were in love but the feeling diminished for them both as time went on. As the Bloody Valentine War goes on, Lacus meets and falls in love with Kira Yamato, pilot of the Earth Alliance's GAT-X105 Strike Gundam.
When she is dispatched on the civilian space vessel Silverwind to the ruins of Junius Seven, her vessel is attacked by an Earth Alliance Nelson-class battleship led by information by Kenav Luchini to believe that the vessel is actually a military ship. A fight breaks out, but Lacus' lifepod makes it out because of the efforts of Junk Guild tech Lowe Guele and his MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame. Her lifepod is subsequently rescued by the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam and brought to the Archangel.
Even though they are technically enemies, Lacus is kind and respectful towards everybody on board the Archangel, and most of them treat her the same way. (Sai Argyle does question whether the reason she has such a lovely singing voice is due to her genetic alterations.) However, Flay Allster refuses to shake hands and scorns her kindness because she is a Coordinator.
Later, when Flay's father's escort is attacked by ZAFT forces, Flay drags Lacus to the bridge at gunpoint and says that she will kill Lacus if ZAFT does not cease their attack at once. Before anyone can react her father dies when his ship, the Montgomery, explodes. Lacus' expression shows compassion towards Flay, despite being threatened by her. As the ZAFT forces continue their assault, Natarle Badgiruel informs them that the Archangel has Lacus onboard, thus prompting them to withdraw. When Kira nearly has an emotional breakdown on one of the observation decks due to Flay's abusive words, Lacus does her best to comfort him and learns they both share a friendship with Athrun Zala.
Kira later smuggles Lacus off the Archangel and returns her to Athrun, who once again beseeches him to join ZAFT. As before, Kira turns him down because he wants to protect his friends onboard the Archangel This saddens Lacus; she e knows that Kira and Athrun are both good people and are forced to fight one another because of this war. As Athrun returns to the Vesalius with Lacus, Rau Le Creuset launches in his ZGMF-515 CGUE to begin an assault on the Archangel. Lacus quickly picks up the intercom and orders him to stop his aggression at once, due to her being a memorial representative of Junius Seven.
Late in the war, a badly-wounded Kira is brought to Lacus' home by Clyne family friend Reverend Malchio. Lacus nurses Kira back to health with the help of her father and Malchio, and assures him that he's welcome to stay as long as he wants and that he's safe in the Clyne home. However, when Siegel Clyne receives word that the Earth Alliance base JOSH-A is about to be attacked by the bulk of ZAFT's forces, Kira wants to Earth and save his friends aboard the Archangel. In response, Lacus provides Kira with a ZAFT Redcoat uniform and helps him steal the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam. Lacus also grants Kira "her strength" by means of a kiss to his cheek, showing him that he has her support and affections.
Because of her helping Kira, Lacus and her father Siegel are declared as traitors. Both try to inform the people about the genocidal ambitions of Patrick Zala, and Siegel is gunned down by ZAFT soldiers under Patrick Zala's command. While in hiding, Lacus meets with Athrun, and her views of the war help lead to his final decision concerning who he wants to fight for.
Near the end of the Bloody Valentine War, she leaves the PLANTs with her stolen support ship Eternal and joins the Orb Union-owned Kusanagi and the recently defected Archangel to form the Three Ship Alliance, a group dedicated to stopping the war. Upon seeing Kira again, she tells him about the death of her father and weeps bitterly. When the Junk Guild vessel ReHOME joins the Three Ship Alliance as a tender ship, Lacus finally meets the man who saved Kira's life (as well as her own), none other than Junk Guild tech Lowe Guele himself.
When Kira discovers his origins as the product of the Ultimate Coordinator project and is depressived; Lacus comforts him by saying that meeting him has made her so happy despite all the sadness she has endured up to this point. Lacus finally admits her love for Kira to him when she gives him the ring that belonged to her mother before the final battle at Jachin Due and tells him to come back to her safely. Kira thanks her for this and seals his promise with a kiss to her cheek.
[edit] Gundam SEED Destiny
At the start of Gundam SEED Destiny, Lacus is living with Kira at Reverend Malchio's orphanage in the Marshall Islands until a disaster forces her, Kira, the Reverend, and their charges to move in with Andrew Waltfeld and Murrue Ramius at their shared mansion in Orb. Meanwhile, PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal, in need of political clout, showcases Meer Campbell as Lacus, using her to influence the populace. The real Lacus is almost killed in a would-be assassination attempt, but Kira fights off the assassins with the Freedom. She, along with Murrue Ramius, Kira, Andrew Waltfeld, Cagalli Yula Athha, and most of the Archangel's crew reunite hoping to stop the new war. Lacus acts as the CIC officer for the Archangel until Cagalli takes over. (Ultimately, Kira's old friend Miriallia Haw would take over this position).
Lacus, along with Andrew Waltfeld later hijacks a shuttle to go into space, to see what the situation is at the PLANTs. They rejoin the crew of the Eternal and the Terminal factory satellite. In the Special Edition, the scene is edited so that Kira begs her to let him come along. Despite her personal feelings for Kira, she tells him he must remain on Earth to help Cagalli and the Archangel. In the original Destiny, Kira made the choice of staying back himself.
When Lacus and the crew of the Eternal are discovered and attacked by ZAFT again (due to an intelligence-gathering error made by Martin DaCosta), she and the ship try to deliver the newly-built Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice mobile suits to Kira and Athrun on Earth. Kira arrives in space via Cagalli's Strike Rouge and is nearly killed when his mobile suit is severely damaged. Andy uses his new Gaia Gundam to provide Kira enough cover to retreat to Eternal, where his new unit is awaiting. Aboard, Kira and Lacus are reunited and share an emotional embrace and words of happiness at seeing each other again. Lacus then takes Kira to his new unit, the Strike Freedom; once again, she wears a worried expression, much like she did when Kira wanted to pilot the Freedom to save her in Orb. After Kira saves her and the Eternal, she takes the Infinite Justice to Orb herself, giving Kira the freedom to participate in the already-heated battle in Orb. She lands on the Archangel and her words again help Athrun decide on what he wants to do concerning the second war.
Lacus then reveals her presence and the fact that Meer Campbell is an impostor when Meer interrupts Cagalli's broadcast following the Second Battle of Onogoro. Most people are shocked, including the Joule team and the Minerva crew, and even Gilbert Durandal himself is perplexed that Lacus is in Orb. In her broadcast she also denounces Chairman Durandal's agenda, which will involve using genetics to assign behavioral genes to every human being in order to render war and conflict obsolete. Terminal vows to stop Chairman Durandal from implementing his radical "Destiny Plan".
After the sudden attack on PLANT by Lord Djibril's Requiem beam, Lacus goes back to space aboard the Archangel. She joins Athrun, Kira, and Meyrin Hawke in information gathering on the moon, where they are contacted by Meer. Even though Athrun and Meyrin think it is a trap, Lacus chooses to meet Meer.
Lacus tries to convince Meer to stop working for Durandal; however, they are attacked. Athrun, Kira, and Meyrin deal with the attackers, but Meer ends up dying in Lacus' arms after taking the shot that was originally meant to kill Lacus. After a funeral on the Archangel, Lacus and the others read Meer's diary and are visibly moved.
During the final stages of Gundam SEED Destiny, Lacus leads Terminal and the bulk of the forces that stand in the way between Durandal and the implementing of the Destiny Plan.
After the death of Chairman Durandal, Lacus Clyne is invited back to the PLANTs to serve as a mediator between ZAFT and the other nations. At the end of Gundam SEED Destiny FINAL PLUS, she is shown walking towards the PLANT Supreme Council. It is still unclear whether she is a still just a mediator, a member of the Council, or the leader of the PLANTs (Chairwoman).
[edit] Relationship with Kira Yamato
The relationship between Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato is questioned by some fans. While they seem to care for one another, some interpreted it as fraternal love as the two have never been seen in what is typically called a "Hollywood Embrace" (which is an embrace followed by a deep kiss). Others see the relationship as more "real" because, while they aren't shown expressing their feelings in that manner, they are often shown as being the happy and confident when they were together. Moreover, in SEED, Lacus entrusts Kira with her ring during later episodes, followed by a kiss from Kira on Lacus' cheek. In Japanese (or East Asian in general) tradition, when a woman entrusts an ornament to a man, it usually implies romantic love and later, marriage.[citation needed] Some still doubt the relationship at the end of SEED, as Kira seems distant (perhaps due to his traumatized mind and heart).
In the short "aftermath" OVA following the end of SEED, Lacus and Kira are clearly shown living together and the continue to do so in Destiny. The two are often shown embracing and holding hands. Lacus is shown to be uneasy whenever Kira goes off to battle. When she hijacks a shuttle (with the help of Andrew Waltfeld) to go into space; Kira is also seen as uneasy, and he defends Lacus with the Freedom from oncoming missiles. In the Special Edition, as Lacus goes into space, Kira tries to convey his feelings for her, but the communication is cut off.
[edit] Haro
Lacus is usually accompanied by a pink Haro (Pink-chan/ Mr. Pink in the dub) given to her by Athrun Zala, who has a penchant for making small robotic contraptions (such as Kira’s Tori). Over time Athrun made her more Haros in many different colors. Pink-chan is usually there to keep her company when everyone else is away, and she often talks to it despite the fact that Pink-chan has a very limited vocabulary. Haros are considered to be the mascot of Gundam, appearing in several other series in the Universal Century timeline, but Athrun's Haros are visibly smaller than the UC originals.
[edit] Trivia
- Lacus means lake in Latin, and Meer means lake in Dutch. Meer also means oceanic in German.
- In the first series, Lacus Clyne is nicknamed "Pink Princess" and "the Songstress." In the second series, the appellation "White Queen" is often used to describe her, as she appears to be represented as such on Gilbert Durandal's chess board. She is referred to in the title of ep.8 of the first series as the "Songstress of the Enemy" (敵軍の歌姫 tekigun no utahime?).
- Lacus may have the ability to go into SEED mode. In episode 49 of Gundam SEED, her pupils become dilated, like characters who go into SEED mode, after she gives a discourse about war and death, but no accompanying seed explosion is seen; the same dilation is seen in Episode 50 of Gundam SEED Destiny, when Lacus becomes aware of Kira's battle with Rey Za Burrel, again with no seed explosion.
- In SEED Destiny, Lacus is portrayed as somewhat more militant and organized, though this has not affected her angelic personality at all. Also, here, she is slightly more reluctant to let Kira fight (seen in the events where both Freedom units make their debut in Destiny). However, strangely, she is not like this towards Athrun when she delivers the Infinite Justice to him. As another note, the scene after Durandal's Destiny Plan speech is where we see Lacus in a truly angry face, a somewhat departure from her other angry faces which still retain her sweet side. (See the "An angry Lacus" pic above)
- She is a playable character in the upcoming game "Gundam SEED Destiny: OMNI vs ZAFT II". Trailers depict her piloting Meer's ZAKU and the Infinite Justice (the only MS she really piloted, even if she never used it for combat) and shows her activating her SEED mode with an explosion.
