Raidiese F. Branstein
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Raidiese F. Branstein is a fictional character from the Super Robot Wars series. He has appeared as a playable character in the Super Robot Wars Alpha series, and Super Robot Wars Original Generation series. In canon, he is one of the pilots for the SRX Altered Banpreios, and is joined by fellow pilots Ryusei Date, Aya Kobayashi and her sister Mai Kobayashi.
[edit] Personal data
Name: Raidiese F. Branstein
AKA: Rai
Status: Human
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Affiliation: Londo Bell (Shin SRW, Alpha 1/Gaiden), Alpha Numbers (Alpha 3), SRX Team (Shin SRW, Alpha 1/Gaiden/Alpha 3, OG 1/2), New Aggressors Unit (Between OG1 and OG2)
Relatives and Personal Affiliations: Elzam V. Branstein (Brother), Maier V. Branstein (Father), Cattleya Fujiwara-Branstein (Sister-in-law), Leona Garstein (Cousin)
Mecha: Huckebein 008R (OG 1), Schutzwald (OG 1), R-2 (Alpha 1, OG), R-2 Powered (Alpha 1, OG 1/2), SRX (Alpha 1, OG 1/2), Mass Production Huckebein MK-II (Alpha Gaiden, OG2), SRX Altered Banpreios (Alpha 3)
[edit] Personality and traits
Although not a psychodriver like his fellow SRX teammates, 19-year old Raidiese F. Branstein has exceptional piloting skills, with a unique sense of judgment on the battlefield. Hailing from the esteemed Branstein family, he is the second son of Maier V. Branstein, and the younger brother to Elzam V. Branstein. A calm and loyal individual, Rai holds great respect for the Branstein name, and holds his friends and family close to his heart. However, as seen in both OG games, his relationship with Elzam has been strained for several years; Rai blames him for the death of his beloved sister-in-law Cattleya after the attack on the Elpis colony, the Branstein clan's home. His relationship with Princess Shine Hausen isn't quite clear, but he makes sure she feels safe whenever he's around her.
As revealed in OG2, only one man is capable of truly breaking Rai's calm demeanor -- Archibald Grims, the man behind the Elpis incident.
[edit] History
Before the start of Original Generation, terrorists seized one of the space colonies where Raidiese's sister-in-law, Cattleya Fujiwara-Branstein, was held hostage. She was killed, at her request, along with the terrorists, and the man who executed it was none other than her husband, Elzam V. Branstein. Completely distraught over his brother's decision, Rai distances himself from the rest of his family, even going so far as to changing his middle name to Fujiwara, in honour of Cattleya. He soon leaves the colonies and joins ranks with the Earth Federation. By the time Original Generation starts, he is given the rank of Second Lieutenant, and was sent to Mao Industries on the moon, in order to test the Huckebein 008R. However, the Black-Hole Engine test on the machine failed; as a result, Rai lost his left hand. He was given a prosthetic one just before Ingram Prisken recruits him as the final member of the SRX Team.
Although he and the young, prominent psychodriver Ryusei Date had initial scuffles with one another, he began to respect him as his performances on the battlefield began to improve. When Ingram defects to the Aerogaters, Rai is told that he's not needed on the SRX Team anymore, as the SRX machine requires three psychodrivers to utilize its full potential. Instead, he responds that as long as he exists on the team, his seat in the R-2 will always be his. As such, Rai continues to do battle with the Divine Crusaders and Aerogaters in the war, alongside his teammates.
After the L-5 Campaign against the Aerogaters, the SRX Team is temporarily disbanded; Ryusei Date stays in Japan to train with Viletta Vadim, Irmgult Kazahara, and Aya Kobayashi, while Rai was transferred to the reformed Aggressors unit, with Latooni Subota and Kai Kitamura. When the Neo Divine Crusaders attacks Hawaii, Rai is forced to retreat with his teammates and rendezvous with the Earth Federation Army forces in Japan.
In addition, the formation of the Neo DC brings a more personal side to the battle for Rai. Though normally a cool and collected individual, he finds himself face to face with the man responsible for Cattleya's death: Archibald Grims, now a commander for the newly-formed second DC. To avenge his sister-in-law's death, Rai swears to defeat Archibald himself.
