Super Robot Wars Compact 2/Characters

Kyosuke Nanbu (Voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa)
""I don't mind betting on tough odds!""

Debuts in the lowly Compact 2, but proved popular enough his game gets updated into Impact and becomes another protagonist for the first Original Generation, though his route becomes non-canon (the second half of it, anyways). Kyosuke's grumpy with a bad life-or-death gambling habit and takes war rather seriously. His partner's the extremely cheery Excellen Browning, which somehow makes up a good foil for his stoicism, for a good reason: without her, he may as well become too grumpy like his Evil Twin Beowulf in the Shadow-Mirror universe. He also has a rather unnatural luck: in the past, he was one of two shuttle crash survivors, coming out with just minor scratches and bruises. While usually calm, he has a Berserk Button: go ahead and endanger his woman, and he becomes a Determinator with a dangerous Tranquil Fury.

At first he's a new recruit to Sanger Zonvolt's ATX Team, but after Sanger's Face Heel Turn, he takes leadership of the team and proves himself to be equally as badass as Sanger in the role. He pretty much becomes the "leader guy" after the ATX and SRX Teams merge into one, eventually bringing Sanger back to the team... unofficially. His biggest contribution in Original Generation 2 is during the war against the Inspectors and the Shadow-Mirror, wherein he becomes The Rival to Axel Almer. He's also sort of targeted by the Einst, especially Alfimi, but he and Excellen manages to persuade her and kick the crap out of her boss. Original Generation Gaiden has Kyosuke suffer Heroic BSOD for three times, due to his apparent failure to protect his friend. Thankfully,  (who by this time gets a Heel Face Turn) manages to set him straight after a Dynamic Entry rescue. As of Another Century's Episode: R,. Fortunately, he will return for the upcoming Second Original Generation.

Kyosuke pilots the very bulky Real Robot Genre Alt Eisen and its upgrade the Alt Eisen Riese, all that adheres to the Rule of Cool (so heavy it needs a Tesla Drive to stand up, and he's the only one who can use the Alt). They embody these tropes:

"Kyosuke: "...I managed to survive... again.""
 * Ace Pilot (With the heavy-hitting Alt, Kyosuke most definitely is a "Steamroller")
 * Ace Custom (Played with: the Alt Eisen's a Flawed Prototype, intended to be next-generation Gespenst MK III but it's bulk, speed, and unorthodox weapons rendered it too clumsy and impractical to be put into mass-production. The only model produced had been gathering dust in a hanger, with the Alt's mechanical designer about to scrap it, until Kyosuke's piloting abilities were noticed. Since he proved to be such a good match for it, the higher-ups decided to let him keep it, turning it into this trope)
 * Heads into Meaningful Name: translated loosely, Alt Eisen is German for "old/scrap iron".
 * Note the Mid-Season Upgrade, Alt Eisen Riese ("Old/Scrap Iron Giant"), is more impractical: it's so heavy it needs a Tesla Drive (a part normally used to make mechs and ships fly) to even stand up. That being said, it's specifically tailored for Kyosuke to use (he even had a hand in developing it), ultimately making it a true Ace Custom.
 * Awesome but Impractical ("Trump Card": the Alt unloads its entire arsenal, making for one extremely powerful attack; unfortunately, it's a one-use thing per scenario. Bummer...)
 * Note the Riese lets you use it twice in a scenario (excluding resupply via a teammate or battleship).
 * In-universe, the Alt Eisen IS this trope: see Ace Custom.
 * Badass (Oh, so VERY much)
 * Badass Normal (While most of his other Nakama are pilots with powerful Psychic Powers or not even human at all, he manages to kick ass and win battles solely by skill and loads of battle experience behind the cockpit (being the only person who can pilot the Alt Eisen/Alt Eisen Riese). The only thing that's abnormal about him is his insane luck giving him the capability to survive injuries that should ordinarily kill a person)
 * Out of the numerous Badass originals, he's considered among the top tier, right alongside Sanger freaking Zonvolt, which is really saying something.
 * Bandaged Dude (In Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Inspectors, after he gets trashed by Axel)
 * Born Lucky (He got it after the shuttle crash. Since then, he's dead meat without it, which goes along with...)
 * No One Could Survive That, Made of Iron (Shuttle incident, check; got sabotaged in his very first attempt to test a Transforming Mecha, check; being ripped apart by Axel, check. And...)
 * I Like Those Odds, Million-to-One Chance, The Gambler (No matter how stacked the odds are, he "doesn't mind betting on them")
 * Lampshaded after he survived the Wildraubtier transformation failure:

"Kyosuke: "Stop me... if you can.""
 * Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl
 * Calling Your Attacks (Usually averted, due to him playing The Stoic. Maybe that's why Banpresto forced him to go Hot-Blooded when he's put into the Gespenst MK II Type-S)
 * They did it again in episode 7 of The Inspectors, though this is entirely justified due to the words "Shout Now".
 * Chekhov's Gun ( ?)
 * Combination Attack (Rampage Ghost)
 * Determinator (He practically runs on this. Sanger once described Kyosuke as "a man who will charge headfirst into danger and always find a way to win, no matter how bad the odds.")

"Katina Tarask: "He's cold."
 * Determined Expression (Pretty much his default character portrait)
 * Evil Twin (Beowulf)
 * Expy (Has two: Reiji Arisu of Namco X Capcom and Haken Browning of Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier)
 * The latter doesn't really count, as he's nothing like Kyosuke, not even in looks, and to boot, his entire storyline is that he's
 * Still played straight in Haken's stoicism (albeit, a brief one), gambling habits/references (more to Kyosuke, even!), a main weapon with a pile-driver spike on one end, leadership qualities and generalization he's the token protagonist of a game where the director was also the one in charge of Impact and Namco X Capcom.
 * Resident Little Miss Badass Vita from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha shout many references to the Alt Eisen: her barrier jacket is predominantly red and black (with some white highlights), her armed device is called "Graf Eisen" which, while a hammer, functions as a barrier-piercing attack with a pike by spending cartridges and also has the power to attack her enemies with tons of iron balls. Also, she gets trounced by new characters quite frequently.
 * In-universe, as of the Second Original Generation, Ariel Org's Flickerei Geist from Real Robot Regiment.
 * Field Promotion (Is given full command of the ATX Team following Sanger's departure. After, he's promoted to lieutenant and practically overall battle commander of the Hagane and Hiryu Custom forces. Whoo! Talk about Breakout Character)
 * Five Temperament Ensemble (In the ATX Team, Kyosuke would be the "Choleric". He was "Phlegmatic" when Sanger was around, though)
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation (Even remember the time when he's the only person who can pilot the Alt Eisen? Yeah, the games seem to forget that)
 * He's not the only person who can pilot the Alt: he's the only person who can use it effectively.
 * Gatling Good (Alt Eisen Riese's Chaingun)
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man! (Did this to Sanger: "We don't need a moping fool. We need Sanger Zonvolt, The Sword That Cleaves Evil!")
 * Gut Feeling (Kyosuke has good instincts and his "hunches" tend to be spot on. Notably in Original Generation 2, he suspected Lamia was The Mole within minutes of meeting her, and correctly guessed she was working for a third-party)
 * Back in the first Original Generation, he also suspected that  was a traitor.
 * Radha once asked Excellen if he was a Psychodriver like the characters from the Alpha series.
 * Heroic BSOD, due to  (Three times in Original Generation Gaiden. Absolutely mind-boggling he hasn't become The Woobie yet. Fortunately for him, the latter's subverted later on)
 * Hot-Blooded (While he usually comes off as cold, reserved, and apathetic towards just about anything, there are times on the battlefield where his emotions break through and he shows this trope)
 * Ignore the Fanservice (Slight subversion: it's not that he doesn't appreciate Excellen's antics, but her Ms. Fanservice hijinks are just inappropriate sometimes, depending on the situation)
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice (Alt Eisen Riese's Revolving Bunker works like this. Emphasis on "Extreme Prejudice")
 * Improbable Weapon User (Alt uses a pile bunker and carries Shoulders of Doom as weapons . When it's upgraded to the Riese, it can't even move with the extra armor and weaponry: who in the right mind would want to use this machine?? Fortunately, Kyosuke's the only one who can ever use it and factor in his ungodly luck, here's a true example of a weapon not fit for anyone but him)
 * Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better (Even in a setting where super robots generally outclass real robots, the Alt Eisen manages to make the best of itself due to its armament that it can rival most supers in power)
 * In The Inspector anime, the Riese was able to physically overpower Axel's Super Robot classed Soulgain.
 * Leitmotif (Kotetsu no Beowulf ("Steel Beowulf"))
 * Lightning Bruiser (Tanking and dealing high damage while still being able to dodge are all wrapped up in one Alt Eisen-shaped package. The Riese, if set up correctly, can be a potential Game Breaker)
 * Justified in-universe: the Alt was specifically designed to charge into enemy lines and for blitzing strategies, hence it's heavy armor and high acceleration. Incidentally, this is also why it's so difficult to pilot: it's set up for high-risk high-reward combat strategies (which, come to think of it, fits Kyouske's personalty like a glove).
 * More Dakka (The general idea behind the Alt's design)
 * Interestingly, most of the Alt's weapons are classified as melee-based, including its "Claymore" attack, which involves launching dozens if not hundreds of explosive giant-robot-sized balls.
 * Multicolored Hair (Brown and gold)
 * Official Couple (To the point where their Portmanteau Couple Name is "Kyocellen")
 * Patrick Stewart Speech (Him giving one to the Neue Regisseur ultimately convinces Alfimi to pull her Heel Face Turn)
 * Pieta Plagiarism (In The Inspectors, their mechs are in this pose)
 * Relationship Voice Actor (Him and Excellen = D-Boy and Miyuki. Additionally, he and Neue/Stern Regisseur = D-Boy and Tekkaman Omega, while he and Axel = Griffith and Guts)
 * Rule of Cool (The whole premise of the Alt Eisen)
 * Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl
 * Shoulders of Doom (For once, entirely functional: the giant boxes that are the Alt Eisen's shoulders contain both the delivery mechanisms and the uncountable number of metal balls involved in the "Claymore" attack)
 * The Stoic (But Not So Stoic several times in Original Generation Gaiden)
 * Talking to Himself
 * Tranquil Fury (What will befall on those who piss him off)
 * Kyosuke's a master of this trope. He never looses his composure when his buttons are pressed and always stays focused on the task at hand; hell, he just becomes more determined to beat the crap out of the stupid bastard who pushed those buttons in the first place. A good example comes from Original Generation after a Federation officer turns traitor and abducts, then flees while a large enemy force attacks the heroes' base. Kyosuke orders his allies to focus on dealing with the more immediate threat rather than chase the kidnappers, prompting this exchange:

Excellen: "Not really. Kyosuke's bad about holding a grudge."

Kyosuke: "We'll settle this later . My way."

Excellen: "See.""

"Katina: "Wow. He can stay calm even through this?" Ryusei: "No. I've never seen him this angry before.""
 * Later, Excellen remarks that she feels sorry for the traitor because "He made Kyosuke mad."
 * Of course, the best example would have to be during the famous Scenario 35 event, when  purposely goes out of his way to taunt him. Kyosuke, when confronted with , goads Kyosuke to attack him. He responds by saying "I see", then calmly gives orders to immobilize her mech; he even exchanges a few jokes with Sanger. What follows is this:


 * Kyosuke then silently powers himself up with every possible buff in the game, prompting  to note that it worked a little TOO well. The battle doesn't last much longer after that.
 * Wolverine Publicity (With the exception of the Masou Kishin-based game(s), you will either see him, his expies or any variant of the Alt Eisen in any Original Generation-related game covers)
 * The Worf Effect (At least until he gets the Riese, every new villain in Original Generation 2 seems to show their badassery by beating the Alt Eisen to within an inch of destruction)
 * This trope's more or less enforced: Kyosuke knew he would be fighting stronger opponents, thus he wanted to avert this earlier with a major overhaul to the Alt. Unfortunately, he was consistently sortied into battle, which didn't give the Alt any time to rest. It wasn't until Axel tore the machine apart the Riese was greenlit for approval.

Excellen Browning (Voiced by Yuko Mizutani)
""Cheer up, nobody says you suck...even though you do.""

This...err...extremely cheery Ms. Fanservice is partner and complement to Kyosuke, and his girlfriend to boot. Majorly flirty, loves to tease, can handle her alcohol good but still loyal to her boyfriend. She's not an Otaku but has a hint of geekiness intact - she makes some shout outs by herself. She also pretty much loves acting like a Cool Big Sis towards anyone younger than her. She's in fact. She also plays the Distressed Damsel role several times: first by  (now discontinued), then the Einsts. She befriends Robot Girl Lamia Loveless and showcases her traits as a Cool Big Sis towards her, making Lamia call her Ex-oneesama or Miss Excell (or maybe since Lamia's so clueless about human personality at the time, she accepts that kind of nickname). Thus far, she has two clones: Einst-girl Alfimi and.

Excellen rides the sniping bot Weissritter and it gets upgraded/mutated into the Rein Weissritter. They embody these tropes:


 * Anything That Moves (She'll usually flirt with anyone, regardless if you're an alien, homicidal maniac, old enough to be her grandfather, young enough to be her daughter, male, female, etc. However, she'll never go the full distance with them because of her devotion to Kyosuke. Fanon, on the other hand, likes to say otherwise...)
 * Fan-Preferred Couple, If It's You It's Okay (Due to a particular comment, it's not uncommon to see an Excellen x Viletta Vadim pairing, thanks to Excellen stating she'd make an exception for the latter. Then again, most fans will practically ship Excellen with anyone and anything)
 * Badass
 * Badass Adorable (Well, she's more beautiful than adorable, but you still can't deny the fact she can kick ass while looking good doing it...)
 * Badass in Distress (Twice; fortunately, one gets thrown into Canon Discontinuity)
 * Baka (Put her into the Huckebein MK III Boxer using the Geist Knuckle: "BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA!!! KYOSUKE NO BAKA!!!" 0_0 This is the vid for it. Played with...or not?)
 * Then again, she likes playing like an idiot...
 * Beam Spam (Specialty of the Weiss and Rein Weiss)
 * Super Speed (Particularly the Rein; its attack animations depict it as if it were in multiple places at once. Trope fully demonstrated in its debut for The Inspector)
 * Boisterous Bruiser (A rare female protagonist example, though she mixes this with Bottle Fairy)
 * Bottle Fairy, The Pollyanna (Doesn't need to be drunk on it: it's part of her nature. Likewise, her sunny disposition is what really cheers the cast up during the downer moments)
 * Brainwashed and Crazy (In her Distressed Damsel role. Doubles as Fighting Your Friend)
 * Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl (Note that while Excellen's a bonafide Manic Pixie Dream Girl, she has all the elements of the "gentle girl": genuine affections, patience and emotional support for the "brooding boy")
 * Combination Attack
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Covert Pervert (Sometimes, one has to wonder what exactly goes on in Excellen's head when she starts flirting with girls...)
 * (Variation: )
 * Expy (Also has two: Xiaomu in Namco X Capcom and Kaguya Nanbu (to an extent) in Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier)
 * Fan Nickname (Sexcellen)
 * Five Temperament Ensemble (In the ATX Team, Excellen would be the "Sanguine")
 * Gainaxing (A mild degree of it in Original Generations, gratuituously in The Inspectors)
 * Leitmotif (Hakugin no Datenshi (Literally "(Pure) Silver Fallen Angel", though title has also been translated as "Platinum Luficer" and "White Fallen Knight")
 * Malaproper
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl
 * Mid-Season Upgrade (The GBA Original Generation 2 Rein reverts back to the original; Original Generations retcons this, with the Rein staying as it is. If you plan on getting this in Impact, )
 * Most will go for the latter instead for two reasons: and getting the Rein disables Rampage Ghost.
 * Ms. Fanservice (Teasing, innuendo, stockings, wearing a bunny suit simply for the guys' viewing pleasure, swimwear, loads of hinted Les Yay, wearing only a bath towel while walking around the battleship...yeah...)
 * She's even been on Japanese pillows endorsed by Banpresto (maybe NSFW).
 * Fetish Fuel Station Attendant (This alone from the end credits of episode 19 (slightly NSFW) for The Inspectors invokes Naughty Tentacles, Clothing Damage and Screw Yourself...ALL without the fandom doing it, but the development staff for the anime, instead)
 * No One Could Survive That (Subverted: )
 * Though it's for the better, since
 * Cold REALLY REALLY COLORFUL Sniper
 * She does exhibit a variation of the Cold Sniper briefly:.
 * Over and Under the Top (Despite Excellen overexaggerating her affections solely for Kyosuke (coupled with how fanworks portray her), the two have some of the most tender moments on-screen)
 * Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl
 * Seme (Any fanworks pairing her up with women often portray her as this)
 * Shipper on Deck (If she wasn't a pilot, she might as well have taken a career as a matchmaker)
 * Shout-Out (TONS: Getter Robo, Great Mazinger, Mazinkaiser, G Gundam, Machine Robo, Gunbuster, Dancougar, Kamen Rider, Back to The Future, Sanger. Some of the references may be justified because she originally came from a series/remake which featured them)
 * Stocking Filler (Sports a pair of subtle garters in official art)
 * Swiss Army Gun (Weiss Riter's Oxtongue Launcher and Rein Weiss Ritter's Howling Launcher)
 * Talking to Herself
 * The Nicknamer
 * The Power of Love (Played with: Excellen names Rampage Ghost the "Love Love Attack")
 * The Tease (Will hit on guys AND girls)
 * The Three Faces of Eve (She makes up the "Three Beautiful Sisters", with her as the Seductress)
 * In a rare second example, out of her and expies Xiaomu and Kaguya, Excellen still takes the Seductress role
 * And in an even rarer third example, she's the Seductress again out of her and her clones. Good god, is there anything this woman isn't??
 * Dead...well, not anymore, at least
 * Witty Banter, You Fight Like a Cow (Her random combat messages tend to be very unusual)
 * Depending on which unit she's in and the attack that's used (re: Alt Eisen's Revolver Stake), she'll resort to Double Entendre.
 * Witty Banter, You Fight Like a Cow (Her random combat messages tend to be very unusual)
 * Depending on which unit she's in and the attack that's used (re: Alt Eisen's Revolver Stake), she'll resort to Double Entendre.

Einst Alfimi (Voiced by Yuko Mizutani)
Let's say sometime during her earlier days, Excellen had an accident in a shuttle plane that would've otherwise killed her, were it not for Kyosuke. And let's just say for a brief time, before she was Deader Than Dead, she was hauled off by the Einsts, who proceed to rebuild her. But why stop there? Why not create a clone out of her, name it Alfimi, but instead of being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl Bottle Fairy, she's an emotionless loli?

Anyway, years later, the meddling Einst declare humanity needs a reboot, and they need their own Adam and Eve to make the planet grow again. Thus Alfimi's sent out to capture Excellen and persuade the "Adam" to agree to the Einst's plans. Instead, they pull out their own persuasion for Alfimi to break out on her own; ...it works and the bad Einsts are destroyed. Unfortunately,

Alfimi pilots the very scary-looking Einst mecha called Persoenlichkeit (shortened into "Lichkeit" for the English release because of space restrictions). Tropes associated with Alfimi:


 * Bittersweet Ending
 * Cosmic Horror (Persoenlichkeit)
 * Expy
 * Facial Markings
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Humanity Is Infectious
 * Katanas Are Just Better (Lichkeit's Weapon of Choice; coincidentally becomes )
 * Late Arrival Spoiler (Alfimi is Excellen's clone. Do note that  is STILL a spoiler)
 * Leitmotif ("Alchemist With a Wavering Heart"; localized as "Alchemist's Query")
 * Moe Moe (Alfimi was already adorable, but The Inspectors cranks it Up to Eleven)
 * Creepy Child (Depending on who you ask, the anime might extend to this, too)
 * Nightmare Fuel (The Persoenlichkeit's strongest attack involves her familiars pinning down its target. Alfimi gets up close and personal, unsheathes the Lichkeit's katana and stabs the living shit out of it. Skewering motions make the sight of the attack painful, until you realize Time Stands Still during the attack, meaning the target isn't even feeling anything until afterwards)
 * Perky Female Minion (First for the Einst, )
 * OT 3 (You think Kyosuke will just settle for Excellen and not both her and a loli clone? Fanworks say you're wrong)
 * Additionally, Fanon took this and ran with it; it's unbelievably adorable.
 * Ship Tease (Arguably, Kyosuke, )
 * Speech Impediment (Not really, but she talks really slow)
 * It's made more jarring considering who she's a clone of.
 * Spell My Name with an "S" (Is it Alfimi or Alchemie?)
 * Technically, it's both.
 * Given the Theme Naming, it's probably Alchemie. SRW's in love with the German language. Also, Persoenlichkeit is German for "personality".
 * Talking to Herself
 * Token Mini-Moe (Amongst the Impact originals)
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair (Even when your origin is an orange-blonde Ms. Fanservice...)
 * Talking to Herself
 * Token Mini-Moe (Amongst the Impact originals)
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair (Even when your origin is an orange-blonde Ms. Fanservice...)

EINST/JETZT
The antagonists of Compact 2/Impact. Said to be have around since the beginning of time, they act like the guardians of the universe and eliminate those they consider to be a threat to the natural order of the universe and recreate life from the ashes. It just so happens they pick the universe where our heroes live in: bad idea. They speak telepathically and only Kyosuke and Excellen can hear them. A source of Epileptic Trees arise due to the Einst being responsible for. It also makes an appearance in Endless Frontier. In Original Generation Gaiden, they come back as the Jetzt. Tropes regarding of the Einst:


 * A God Am I (Subverted with Neue Regisseur: when it explains the Einst's role, the heroes ask if it claims to be God, which Neue denies. of Endless Frontier didn't get the memo, and compares itself to "a Creator" with its last words (ironically, it did create the Endless Frontier))
 * Blue and Orange Morality
 * Cloning Blues (Alfimi)
 * Taken Up to Eleven in Endless Frontier, where half the playable cast is cloned by the Einst and must be fought.
 * Colony Drop (In Original Generation 2, )
 * Combat Tentacles (Featured on Glied and Regisseur types. Becomes Naughty Tentacles in fanwork)
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Gratuitous German (All the names and attack names of Einst units and characters)
 * Hey, It's That Voice! (Norio Wakamoto as the Neue/Stern Regisseur)
 * Hive Queen (Neue/Stern Regisseur)
 * Organic Technology (They can mimic mecha perfectly, the best example being the Einst Eisen, the Evil Knockoff of the Alt Eisen)
 * That's No Moon
 * The Virus
 * True Final Boss (Achieving a certain amount of Battle Masteries in Original Generation 2 nets you a final fight with a space-station-sized Stern Regisseur, after inhabiting the White Star)
 * Subverted and retconned by Original Generations: you'll be fighting it no matter what.
 * Also subverted earlier since Impact, where  is the final villain if you achieve enough skill points.
 * You Will Be Assimilated (Highlighted in The Inspectors, where civilians are slowly mutated into Einst hybrids via a fog)
 * You Will Be Assimilated (Highlighted in The Inspectors, where civilians are slowly mutated into Einst hybrids via a fog)