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This anime and manga-related article or section describes an aspect of the series in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
| Rey Za Burrel | |
|---|---|
| Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny character | |
 Rey Za Burrel in Gundam SEED Destiny Special Edition II |
|
| First appearance | Gundam SEED Destiny episode 1 |
| Last appearance | Gundam SEED Destiny "Final Plus" episode |
| Voiced by | Toshihiko Seki (Japanese) Houko Kuwashima (Japanese; child) Kirby Morrow (English) Lisa Ann Beley (English; child) |
| Profile | |
| Age | 17 [GSD] |
| Nationality | PLANT [GSD] |
| Known relatives | Al Da Flaga (DNA progenitor) Gilbert Durandal (guardian) Mu La Flaga (son, by genetics) Rau Le Creuset (brother, by genetics) |
| Genetic type | Clone |
| Information | |
| Allegiance | ZAFT [GSD] |
| Rank | Red uniform [GSD] FAITH [GSD] |
| Mobile weapons | ZGMF-1001 Blaze ZAKU Phantom [GSD] ZGMF-X666S Legend [GSD] |
Rey Za Burrel (レイ・ザ・バレル Rei Za Bareru?) is a fictional character from the anime series, Gundam SEED Destiny, set in the Cosmic Era timeline of the Gundam metaseries.
Contents |
History
Personality
Rey Za Burrel is a quiet, cool-headed, and polite soldier who keeps himself out of other people's way. He is one of the elite young mobile suit pilots in ZAFT known as "ZAFT Reds" for their uniform (a symbol of graduation at the top of the military cadet class). Aboard the Minerva, Rey is friends with fellow pilot Shinn Asuka. Rey is very close to and respectful of Chairman Gilbert Durandal, who is somewhat of a father figure to him. There are flashbacks of Rey with Rau Le Creuset, where Rau is shown being kind to Rey, who looks up to him. After enlisting in ZAFT, Rey asks Durandal about Rau and is told of his death at the hands of Kira Yamato.
First appearance
Rey is introduced at ZAFT's Armory One where Chairman of PLANT Supreme Council Gilbert Durandal is meeting Orb Union representative Cagalli Yula Athha, who is visiting the facility to discuss ZAFT's arms build-up.
Battles
While Cagalli meets with Durandal, Earth Alliance Forces pilots Sting Oakley, Auel Neider, and Stella Loussier infiltrate the base, commandeer ZAFT's newest Gundam-type mobile suits, the ZGMF-X24S Chaos, ZGMF-X88S Gaia, and ZGMF-X31S Abyss, and heavily damage the installation. Rey, Shinn Asuka, and Lunamaria Hawke try to stop the three stolen mobile suits from escaping. Rey pilots his ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom, which is painted with his custom white color scheme. When Captain Neo Roanoke, the commander of the Earth Alliance Forces' Phantom Pain, pilots his mobile armor, the TS-MA4F Exus, in battle to buy Sting, Auel, and Stella some time to escape, Rey senses when Neo is near. In the Battle of Crete, his ZGMF-1001 Blaze ZAKU Phantom unit is severely damaged while defending the Minerva from Orb mobile suits. Later when Stella is held hostage on the Minerva, Rey helps Shinn return her to the Earth Alliance. Both are reprimanded for this. Afterwards, Rey works with Shinn to develop the tactics Shinn uses in Operation Angel Down to destroy the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, which was piloted by Kira Yamato. Rey helps Gilbert Durandal frame Athrun Zala as a traitor, detects Athrun's attempted escape with Meyrin Hawke, and supports Shinn in destroying the mobile suit which leads to the apparent deaths of Athrun and Meyrin. After the defection of Athrun, he becomes the pilot of the ZGMF-X666S Legend, which was originally intended for Athrun. This mobile suit is a direct improvement/refinement of his clone "brother" Rau Le Creuset's ZGMF-X13A Providence. (Both Gundams' model numbers have unfavorable connotations; 13, Providence's model number, is considered unlucky in many cultures, and 666 is the "number of the Beast.") In battles with the Earth Alliance forces at Heaven's Base, and also with the Orb forces, Rey works with Shinn to form a formidable team. Later at the Daedalus lunar base, Rey destroys the Girty Lue battleship, thus killing Lord Djibril as he is trying to escape.
Confessing secrets
Rey confides to Shinn that he is a clone, just like his "other self" Rau Le Creuset, who is shown with him when Rey was little. He also suffers from pain that requires medication. This is due to the shortening of telomeres, sections on either end of strands of DNA, in his cells. This shortening is related to many of the effects of aging. Due to this, Rey knows that he does not have much of a future. However he still passionately supports Chairman Durandal's "Destiny Plan".
Final battle
In the final battle, Rey is determined to obliterate Kira, an obstacle to that plan, and also because he killed Rau. However, Kira convinces him that, just because he is a clone like Rau, does not mean he has to repeat Rau's mistakes and that his life is his own, not anyone else's. Momentarily stunned by Kira's statement Rey is defeated by Kira. He then returns to the space fortress Messiah, where he finds Kira and Durandal in a standoff. Moved by Kira's desire for a future in which he could exist and seeing how the Destiny Plan that he had supported would take away everyone's right to a future of their own, the one thing he was denied in life; Rey shoots Durandal. Due to the damage it sustained at the hands of Kira's Strike Freedom, the Messiah explodes. Rey chooses to remain onboard and die with Durandal and Talia Gladys, whom he calls "mother" at the very last moment.
Background
It is implied in the series that Rey is one of several clones of the powerful and mysterious Atlantic Federation politician Al Da Flaga ("deceased" ace pilot Mu La Flaga's father). Rey mentions that he is a "precursor" to Kira Yamato, of sorts: the profits Ulen Hibiki made from producing these clones were used to fund research into his Ultimate Coordinator project, which ultimately produced Kira.
Overview
Rey's personality is decidedly different from Rau Le Creuset's. Where Rau wanted to encourage man's self-destruction, Rey believes that any life, no matter how difficult, is worth living. While many view him, along with Shinn Asuka, as "villains" later in the series, he is motivated by the thought of improving the future of humanity. This drives him to fight for the Destiny Plan initially, and later to ensure Kira's continued presence in the world, even though it meant killing the man who had raised him. However, like Durandul, he views people of no worth as expendable and "obstacles" as needing to be totally obliterated. This is somewhat exaggerated in Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition. For example, during Athrun's defection from ZAFT, instead of saying "I won't let you betray Gil," he says "you are no longer of any use to us." As a whole, Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition shows him in a much less favorable light, emphasizing the more sinister aspects of his personality, especially his manipulation of Shinn.
In games
In SD Gundam G Generation series and Gundam Wars card game, due to a more user friendly setting, he is listed as a Newtype instead of a different ability of spacial awareness. However, this is not the official story settings.
