is a fictional character first introduced as the protagonist from the 2002 Japanese anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, which was produced by Sunrise as part of the Gundam franchise. In the series, Kira is a first-generation Coordinator, a genetically enhanced human being born of normal humans (Naturals). At the beginning of Gundam SEED, Kira lives on the neutral space colony Heliopolis to avoid the war between the Coordinators and the Naturals, but the colony becomes involved in the war shortly thereafter. Kira is the only person within the Earth Alliancethe Naturals' military factionwho is able to effectively pilot their mobile suita type of a mecha created by them. He is forced to become a mobile suit pilot and to participate in various battles to protect his friends. Kira has also been featured in Gundam SEEDs direct sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, in which he fights to stop a new war between the races' military organizations and the 2024 film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom as a Compass Commander dealing with a group known as Blue Cosmos.
Kira has also appeared in the manga adaptations from the two TV series as well as the film compilations. Various video games from the Gundam franchise as well as crossover games also feature Kira as a pilot from mobile suits. Director Mitsuo Fukuda regarded Kira's actions as based on Japanese people's thoughts, and emphasized a large development occurring to his character across the series. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Sōichirō Hoshi. In English, he is voiced by Matt Hill in the Ocean English dub, and by Max Mittelman in the NYAV English dub.
Kira is one of the most popular characters in the Anime Grand Prix popularity polls for favorite male characters, often coming in first or second between 2002 and 2005. His character has also been well received by publications for manga, anime and other media due to his friendly personality, the constant struggles he has with his enemies that allow him to have a notable development. In regards to his return in SEED Destiny, reviewers found him more likable than the new lead, Shinn Asuka, and found his characterization deeper. His romantic relationship with Lacus Clyne has also been praised by critics due to how well written it is.
Appearances
In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
At the start of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Kira is a shy, friendly teenager living peacefully in the Heliopolis colony. Kira is a highly skilled computer programmer who assists with research and development at the Heliopolis technical college, where he is a student. When a war between the Naturals and Coordinators is brought to Heliopolis, Kira takes control of a mobile suit, the , to protect his friends from ZAFTthe military organization of the Coordinators. Born as a Coordinator, Kira's advanced mental and physical skills allow him to skillfully control the Strike. Kira is shocked when he discovers that his childhood friend Athrun Zala is a member of ZAFT. When they last met, Athrun gave Kira his robotic pet as a sign of their enduring friendship, (voiced by Naomi Shindou in the Japanese anime and Tabitha St. Germain in the English dub) which Kira is often seen with.
Several survivors from Heliopolis are brought on board the Archangel and Kira defends them from enemy attacks until they arrive in Alaska on Earth. Kira has strong reservations against fighting, fearing he may confront Athrun and that he may kill a person. After manipulation by Flay Allster, Kira gradually becomes more aggressive when defending the Archangel to the point where he could kill a person without hesitation. During one of the Archangel's battles against ZAFT, the Strike suffers multiple damages by Athrun and Kira is declared missing in action. He is found alive but injured by Reverend Malchio, who transports him to a space colony known as PLANT where most coordinators reside and is ZAFT's homebase. There, his wounds are treated by Lacus Clyne, a Coordinator who befriended Kira when she was taken aboard the Archangel and was used as a hostage.
After hearing that ZAFT plans to attack the base his friends are staying at, Kira decides to continue battling to bring the war to an end. Lacus then gives Kira ZAFT's new mobile suit, , which he uses to accompany the Archangel, whose objective has also changed to ending the war. When piloting Freedom Kira is noted to avoid hitting enemy mobile suits' cockpits to reduce the number of human casualties. Kira joins the Archangel and Lacus' faction to fight both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to stop both sides from destroying each other.
Kira learns of his origins from ZAFT commander Rau Le Creuset during these battles. Kira is the Ultimate Coordinator; his fetus was artificially developed outside his mother's womb and his genetic enhancements were intended to be superior to all other Coordinators. Kira was the only fetus to survive the process. He was born as the twin brother of his comrade Cagalli Yula Athha but does not learn about this relationship until the latter half of the series. Kira was adopted by his aunt Caridad and uncle Haruma Yamato and was led to believe they were his biological parents. Despite being shocked by his origins as the Ultimate Coordinator, Kira continues to fight alongside the Archangel until their opponents, including Rau, have been defeated and the war comes to end.
In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny During Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, Kira has been living in the secluded Marshall Islands since the end of the war within the country of Orb. He and Lacus have spent the past two years since the end of the war assisting Reverend Malchio and Kira's adoptive mother with their orphanage. When an incident triggers another war, Coordinators try to kill Lacus; Kira pilots Freedom to defeat them. When Orb attempts to join the war as a member of the Earth Alliance, Kira and the Archangel intervene Orb's forces to preserve the nation's neutral status. Kira suspects Gilbert Durandal, the chairman of the PLANT colonies and leader of ZAFT, to be behind Lacus' attempted murder, but his motives are questioned by Athrun who is working in ZAFT. Later, when the Archangel becomes a target of the ZAFT ship known as Minerva, Kira is defeated and the Freedom is destroyed by pilot Shinn Asuka. Lacus gives Kira an upgraded version of Freedom, , so he can continue fighting. Having obtained a weapon of mass destruction, Durandal imposes the Destiny Plan, a rule which removes freewill and dictates a person's entire life based on their genetics. Kira, the Archangel and their allies confront ZAFT's forces in space and defeat them in the final battle. Kira personally confronts Durandal and the latter is killed by one of his own subordinates. Kira appears in the original video animation (OVA) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Final Plus. Following Durandal's death, Kira meets Shinn and they promise to work for a peaceful future. He is also featured in films Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition, which retell the events from the television series and adds a scene of Kira becoming a member of ZAFT after the war ends.
In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (set 1 year after the end of Destiny), Kira has moved to the PLANTs with Lacus, and became the supreme commander of a peacekeeping organization called COMPASS alongside Shinn, and other comrades from his past with the Earth Alliance, Orb and some ZAFT personnel like the Minerva crew and the PLANT Intelligence Division. At the beginning of the film, he pilots a new mobile suit, the STTS-909 Rising Freedom (STTS-909 ライジングフリーダムガンダム), which he uses to fight for Compass. However, Orphee Lam Tao from the Kingdom of Foundation becomes jealous of Kira and Lacus' relationship and has a subordinate use his Accord telepathy to manipulate Kira as he crosses into Eurasia's territory unknowingly and is attacked in retaliation under Lacus' orders. The Freedom is destroyed by the Black Knights serving Orphee Lam Tao but Kira manages to escape. Unaware of Lacus' actions, believing that she has betrayed him, Kira breaks down but is supported by Athrun to search for her in order to understand the truth. An assault team led by Kira infiltrates Foundation's base in the Artemis asteroid and rescues Lacus, as both declare their unconditional love for each other. Kira is then given his old Strike Freedom to face the Black Knights in battle again, most importantly Orphee and Ingrid's own mobile suit. Although Kira is overwhelmed in combat, Lacus aids him by the providing the MDE262S Proud Defender, to become the ZGMF/A-262PD-P Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam. Lacus arrives and assists Kira in destroying all of the Foundation's mobile suits and ships. After defeating Orphee and Ingrid with Freedom's giant sword, the war ends and Kira and Lacus descend to Earth on a beach, where they undress and share a kiss in the sunset.
In other media Kira is featured in the manga adaptations of Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. Kira's designs, according to Masatsugu Iwaseauthor of the Gundam SEED mangawas intended to be that of "a spineless wimp while not making him look too childish", but he later decided to make him a strong character in the manga. The manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: The Edge Desire features a story about Kira's recovery following Freedom's destruction.
The manga series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray explores Kira's survival after the Strike's defeat; a technician named Lowe Guele finds Kira wounded and takes him to Reverend Malchio. Although Kira appears only at the end, his defeat is the objective of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astrays protagonist, Canard Pars. In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73 Δ Astray Kira makes a brief appearance; he kidnaps Cagalli from Orb during the events of Gundam SEED Destiny. He has also been featured in two character CDs from the series, with tracks performed by his Japanese voice actor, Sōichirō Hoshi.
Kira has also appeared in various video games in the Gundam franchise, including Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. and its sequel Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. II. He is the main playable character in the mobile phone game Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Phase-Act Delivery. He appears in the Gundam fighting crossover games Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 with Strike Freedom as a playable mobile suit. Other Gundam crossover games also feature Kira as a pilot including Gundam vs. Gundam Next and Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs.. Another crossover game in which he is playable is Gundam Assault Survive, piloting the Strike. Kira, along with other Gundam SEED characters, appears in several video games from the Super Robot Wars series. He appears in Another Century's Episode 3 piloting the Freedom mobile suit and its follow-up, Another Century's Episode R, with the Strike Freedom.
Creation and conception
Director Mitsuo Fukuda stated that initially the story of Gundam SEED was written from Kira's point of view. When the series started development, Fukuda noticed the world was in chaos as a result of the September 11 attacks. This influenced the themes of Gundam SEED featuring anti-war movement themes through the pacifist Kira Yamato; Fukuda based hime concept of an Islamic soldier fighting in the US military..