Ayanami

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Little is known about Ayanami's human past. It is known that he was born in to a family of nobles, but prior to the series they were cast out from the royal line for a yet unknown reason. Some elder officers mock Ayanami and his family for that and they tend to make things difficult for him. It is most likely that they are jealous of him due to the fact that he outranks them at such a young age, as they use phrases such as a 'brat', 'impertinent youth' and 'intolerable youngster' to describe him. In the manga, it seems that many soldiers in the army fear or dislike Ayanami and the Black Hawks (a small group of officers comprises of Ayanami's loyalest subordinates) because many people see Warsfiels as monsters.

The omake Begleiter reveals that Ayanami has attended the Barsburg Military Academy and Hyuuga was one of his classmates. Before Ayanami rose to the rank of Chief Of Staff, he has fought at the war between Barsburg and Raggs more than ten years ago and was the officer who killed the King of Raggs, who is Teito's father.

It is revealed in the manga that Ayanami contains the soul of Verloren. Back in heaven, thousand years ago, Verloren was hailed as God's greatest creation - and it was his job to devour the souls that were not fit for heaven. It was shown that Verloren was deeply in love with Eve, the Chief of Heaven's daughter, and the Chief of Heaven accused Verloren of killing her, but it is unknown if he actually did kill Eve. Verloren, distraught at her death and angry at the Chief of Heaven, travelled down to earth and began taking people's souls in order to look for Eve's reincarnation. When the Chief of Heaven found out what Verloren was doing, he ordered his execution (to be carried out by the Seven Ghosts which were made from Verloren's fragments and each had some of Verloren's powers), and his immortal body was sealed with the Eye of Mikhail while his soul is forced to reincarnate in human bodies by the seal of the Eye of Raphael.

Apperance

Ayanami is a young man who is 34 years old according to an omake in Supreme Suger (however as this is in an omake that set in the same universe as the Begleiter side chapter, where Yuki and Suzu are young students not combat sklaves as they are in the manga, it's unknown if this is canon). He stands at 5 foot 10 inches in the manga, but he is drawn several inches taller in the anime (being the same height as Frau in the anime, but being drawn almost a head smaller than him in the manga). Ayanami's build is quite slender, with broad shoulders and he weighs 57kg. His blood type is B. He has sharp facial features with a pointy nose, narrowed eyes and full lips. Out of all the Black Hawks, Ayanami has the palest skin tone- almost white when compared to others. His hair is neck length, wavy and a pale blue colour (coloured pale purple in the manga), his eye colour is violet but the rims of his irises flash red whenever he uses his zaiphon. In the manga Ayanami's eyes are either drawn as having no pupils, or slitted pupils like that of a snake, this not occuring in the anime, as Ayanami is drawn as having normal eyes in the anime. Ayanami is considered very handsome in the series universe, with Eve and Katsuragi commenting on his beauty. The Imperial Army has been shown to take advantage of Ayanami's attractiveness, using pictures of him to attract more females into the military (see an omake). Another four-panel omake from Supreme Sugar 01 says that many women in the Barsburg military have a crush on him.
Ayanami is always seen in his Military uniform: which consists of a black, or possibly dark blue, ankle-length overcoat with gold trimmings on the chest, sleeve cuffs and neck-guard. Like his subordinates Ayanami wears black trousers and knee-length black, buckled boots and white gloves. His uniform has a small half mantle hanging off his left shoulder emblazoned with the Barsburg Military insignia, and on his right he has a golden epaulet and shoulder boards as an indication of his high rank. It is unknown what is worn under the overcoat but it is possible it is a plain white shirt (as Mikage was shown wearing one when in the Military uniform). Ayanami's uniform is more decorated than those of his subordinates, a major difference being that Ayanami has a peaked-cap which is trimmed with gold and has the Barsburg Military insignia in the centre. Ayanami is very fond of his military cap, and does not like to take it off - the reason is unknown.

Ayanami is very dedicated to his profession as a soldier and to his country, willing to kill and die for what he believes in, and his nationalism is his main motive in his actions. He shares Field-Marshal Oak's view that the best way to protect Barsburg from losing its present territories is to find the Eye of Mikhail and let Barsburg keep both Eyes. Ayanami does not change his behaviour or go out of his way in order to impress or please his superiors, and the opinions and comments of other people hardly affect him. However, Ayanami does seem rather sensitive when someone mocks his family, as he was shown to be very offended when the Antwort King mockingly referred to him as 'low-born', Ayanami being quite willing to sympathise with King Antwort's situation until he had said that.

Ayanami is strong-willed and never complains about pain or tiredness (despite the omake Begleiter revealing that he only gets 3 hours of sleep a day). He is quiet and always polite when speaking to others, rarely showing any facial expressions and always speaking in mono-tone. Despite being rather unemotional on the surface, Ayanami is aware of his subordinates' feelings (e.g. he comforted Kuroyuri when he/she cried) and well-being (e.g he has asked himself countless times whether Yukikaze was happy being his Begleiter).
He often prefers to work quietly and alone, rather than dealing with the antics of his subordinates. Ayanami is very tidy and organised, as seen by his tendency to sort his garbage before disposal, and likes to complete his work quickly and to a high standard (e.g in a manga chapter, other generals expect that it will take him half a year to settle the conflict in Antwort, but it turns out that it only takes him one week to win the war). He dislikes anyone who distracts him (Major Hyuuga is the only person who does so) and is usually very busy with paperwork, military meetings or court martials. He is rarely caught off-guard and shows surprise only when his opponent is stronger than he has thought. Ayanami is an excellent tactician and as the Chief of Staff he has planned many of the military's attacks. He is also very patient, waiting more than ten years till it is the right time to carry out his plan to remove Major-General Ogi. Ayanami can be very cunning and is a master of manipulation. For example, in the manga, he could have killed Razette immediately, but he hasn't done that, because keeping Razette alive allows him to continue getting information from Fest.

Ayanami can be rather merciless when he feels the Barsburg Empire is being threatened. One example is he implies to Mikage that if he does not reveal any information about Teito who has deserted the army, he will kill Mikage's sister. However, it also seems that Ayanami is bluffing, as an episode shows that Ayanami has actually sent Konatsu to treat the little girl with cakes, chat with her and she is laughing while waiting to see her brother. It seems that he is unwilling to use violence against innocents unless he has no other option.

Whereas Ayanami is level-headed on the battlefield, he is quick to loose his temper and is not above using violence, mainly whipping or using zaiphon, to discipline his subordinates if they do stupid things (e.g joking that Ayanami's cap grows in his head) to annoy him, but Hyuuga is the only one in the Black Hawks who dares annoy Ayanami that way.

The fact that Ayanami is Verloren's reincarnation has had a considerable impact on his personality. Despite Ayanami being calm and composed, when Verloren is in control of him he appears uncharacteristically eccentric, his movements are twitchy and he grins manically. When ruling Ayanami, Verloren is impulsive in his actions, a trait which is not normally associated with Ayanami. For example Verloren attacked Labrador in blind-rage, after he(Labrador) remarked that he will never get Eve back, something Ayanami would never have done during a battle. Verloren's crippling insanity also seems to have had an effect on Ayanami, with Hyuuga remarking that Ayanami is often unable to sleep at night because of the nightmares he experiences.
Despite his cold demeanour, Ayanami has shown some kindness towards his fellow Black Hawks, despite trying to keep relationships professional (possibly as a result of Yukikaze's death). In the first Drama CD, Ayanami brings treats for his subordinates in his own luggage, but brings nothing but work for himself. He will also try his best to protect them from harm, and will risk his own safety to help them if he feels the situation has become too dangerous for them (episode 19, when Kuroyuri was fighting Castor; episode 25, when he put himself in the line of fire to buy his subordinates some time to escape).

Ayanami has a great respect for power, as his motto is "Justice without power is vain" (07-Ghost Official Characterbook).



Miroku:
Ayanami is always polite when speaking to Miroku and always shows respect (always using honorific language to address him) and is grateful to Miroku, in the manga saying that he still owes Miroku for his help. Ayanami was shown with Miroku during the Raggs War suggesting that he has been working for Miroku for at least 10 years.
However, Ayanami is suspicious of Miroku's motives, and does not seem to trust him completely, since Miroku is withholding some important information from him, such as he did not tell Ayanami that he has been hiding the last heir to the Raggs Kingdom and the Eye of Mikhail from the Basrburg Army till much later.

Wakaba Oak:
Ayanami talks with the Field-Marshal and his superior politely, but they are suspicious of each other's moves. Although Marshal Oak is doubtful of Ayanami's motives, he approves of Ayanami's capability and has protected Ayanami in a meeting when other generals attack Ayanami out of spite.

With his subordinates

Hyuuga: Out of all the Black Hawks Hyuuga interacts with Ayanami the most. He was Ayanami's classmate when they were in the military academy, so he knows Ayanami for more time than other present Black Hawk members. However because of their conflicting personalities Ayanami and Hyuuga are often at odds with each other. Hyuuga is often the only person brave enough to enquire Ayanami's motives, whereas the other Black Hawks will follow Ayanami's orders without question. He is also the person who dares to do things like being late for work or escaping from work to annoy Ayanami. Despite Hyuuga's rebellious side, Ayanami trusts Hyuuga in the sense that he will give Hyuuga an answer when asked why he does something. He relies on Hyuuga to a certain extent, since sometimes he is not afraid to show weakness to him as he is the other Black Hawks, for example, after he has lost a part of his body in a fight with Castor, he let Hyuuga hold him and carry him to the regeneration tank. In the drama CD, Ayanami somehow softens or lets his guard down when Hyuuga mentions Yukikaze and tries to cheer Ayanami up.

Hyuuga is able to get away without punishment for offences that would have cost other soldiers their lives - using 'tan' to address Ayanami. (However, the omake Begleiter reveals that actually Ayanami does not like Hyuuga to call him that way, so it is possible that Ayanami has tried to punish Hyuuga in the beginning, just that he has given up later, because punishment won't stop Hyuuga from calling him "Aya-tan".) As for why Hyuuga is not killed for that, possible reasons are that Ayanami doesn't want to lose a strong and loyal subordinate or a good friend.

Kuroyuri: Ayanami's attitude towards Kuroyuri may be considered pampering. Kuroyuri is able to get away with many things that others would have been punished for, as he/she can blatantly sleep in meetings without being punished by Ayanami at all, a possible reason being that Ayanami is unwilling to harm a child as young as Kuroyuri, or he understands that Kuroyuri is tired since he/she has given half of his/her soul to Ayanami (in the manga, Haruse has mentioned that after Ayanami has used Kuroyuri's body, he/she will feel very tired). Ayanami can be something of a father-figure to Kuroyuri, as he has comforted him/her when he/she gets upset over things, e.g. when he/she sees Frau using Verloren's scythe and cries. Another example is when Haruse's soul is taken, Kuroyuri contemplates suicide till Ayanami berated him/her, telling him/her to live if not for him/herself then for Haruse. Kuroyuri also imagines Ayanami so be something of a Prince to him/her, as seen in a side story in the manga that when Haruse talks about a prince, Kuroyuri asks him "How can I kiss Ayanami-sama?".

Katsuragi: At first it appears that Ayanami distrusts Katsuragi, as he brings all the Black Hawks with him but Katsuragi for a secret mission, and Katsuragi works for Ogi as a spy. However, later it is revealed that "Katsuragi" is a loyal subordinate to Ayanami (to the extent that he did a facial surgery in order to take the place of the real Katsuragi who has died) and for more than ten years he has pretended to work for Ogi to wait for an appropriate time to remove him.

Konatsu: Ayanami and Konatsu interact very little as Konatsu follows Ayanami's orders without question, giving Ayanami no reason to address him further. However it's shown in the Drama CD that Ayanami approves of Konatsu's hard-working attitude, saying to Hyuuga that Konatsu is 'such an excellent and cherishable Begleiter'. As Konatsu was born without the powers of Warsfeil, he may be the only Black Hawk who has not given half of his soul to Ayanami.

Haruse: Ayanami and Haruse talk little as Haruse follows Ayanami's orders without question. However, it is likely that Ayanami approves of Haruse, as seen in a chapter in the manga that Ayanami refers to Haruse as "my important subordinate". Even after Haruse has become a vegetable and cannot fight in battles, he is still found in Ayanami's aircraft when they go to Antwort for mission, and Ayanami asks an officer about Haruse's state. In the official doujinshi Supreme Sugar, Ayanami is reading all his subordinates' Christmas wishes, and he approves of only Haruse's wish.

Shuri: Wakaba Oak forced Shuri onto Ayanami before they went to Antwort for war, possibly hoping Ayanami might be able to turn Shuri into a better soldier. Ayanami dislikes Shuri, and was very annoyed upon hearing that Shuri was his new Begleiter, as Shuri is loud, arrogant and causes trouble when he begins to panic meaning Ayanami is forced to 'baby-sit' him rather than treat him like a subordinate. Another reason why Ayanami does not want Shuri in his care is that he distrusts his father, Marshal Oak.

Yukikaze: Yukikaze was Ayanami's Begleiter and he was killed defending Ayanami in battle. According to the omake Begleiter, they were close like a couple and his death took its toll on Ayanami emotionally. It is possible that Ayanami may not have been so expressionless before Yukikaze's death. In the first 07-Ghost drama CD, Ayanami visits Yikikaze's grave and shows a gentle side that he doesn't show to other Black Hawks. According to Hyuuga, Yukikaze would smile when he saw Ayanami act in a stubborn way. It seems that Ayanami still cannot forgive himself for failing to protect Yukikaze, as even though Yukikaze has been dead for more than ten years, he still doesn't want to develop a close relationship with another Begleiter.

Yukinami:
Yukinami and Suzunami follow Ayanami.
Yukinami appears in the omake Begleiter as a cadet Begleiter assigned under Ayanami's supervision. At first Ayanami is cold towards him and strict when dealing with him, thinking him a nuisance because of Yukinami's clumsy behaviour. However at the end of the omake he expresses that he actually approves of Yukinami's performance, and they become closer, Huuga saying Ayanami 'found another marriage partner'. Another four-panel omake from Supreme Sugar 01 shows that Ayanami is Yukinami's role model, as he has Ayanami's photos in his notebook.
With people from Verloren's past

Eve: Verloren was deeply in love with Eve. In the manga Chapter 52 Verloren was shown wanting to reach her, but then just lowered his hand and quietly saw her off. The Chief of Heaven accused him of killing her. Whether he was her murderer or not, Verloren was distraught at her death and travelled to earth and swore to find her reincarnation. As Verloren's reincarnation, Ayanami has feelings for Eve, as when Labrador tells him he can never have what he wants again, a picture of Eve is in the background, and Ayanami is furious at Labrador's comment.

Zehel/Frau: Ayanami and Frau appear to have some sort of rivalry, exchanging banter during their battles. Frau wields Ayanami's (Verloren's) Scythe, and Ayanami warns Frau that the Scythe wants to be with its true master and will soon return to him (Ayanami).


One of Ayanami's most notable traits is his intelligence, earning him the nickname 'the Barsburg Empires number 1 genius'. This, along with how quickly he rose through the ranks of the military reflect his shrewdness and cunning, and as a strategist he the mastermind behind most of the military's plans. Ayanami is able to find and exploit weaknesses in the enemy's defence or attack style (as shown during the conflict against Antwort), and his plans are well thought out, always having a fallback plan if things go wrong. Ayanami is also bilingual; able to speak the Raggs language.

Attacking zaiphon: Ayanami mostly uses his powers to attack enemies, usually launching rings that explode upon impact. Ayanami has also used his attacking Zaiphon to cut the attacks of opponents in half, so that both sides of the opponent's zaiphon attack miss him.

Healing zaiphon: Ayanami has very rarely been seen using his healing zaiphon (as his opponent usually cannot injure him during battle), but was shown being able to heal a wound on his cheek, sustained while holding Kuroyuri's soul, in a matter of seconds.