Flay Allster

Flay Allster (フレイ・アルスター) is a fictional character in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

Personality & Character
Flay is the daughter of Atlantic Federation Vice Foreign Minister-George Allster, fiance to Sai Argyle, and technical college student upon the space colony Heliopolis. Flay is an attractive and popular girl within the colony. Before the events of Gundam Seed, she presents herself has a carefree person with a spoiled princess personality. Unfortunately, Flay's personality will go through a series of dramatic negative changes during the war between the Alliance and Coordinators.

Flay was never a fan of Coordinators and felt uneasy around them; the war and the attack on Heliopolis would further drive that anxiety to racism as she feared the Coordinators like monsters. During her stay aboard the Archangel, she at times freaked out in the presence of a Coordinator, even going as far as exaggerating a situation to convince others that Coordinators are bad. While not part of the Blue Cosmos group, she's a self-admitted sympathizer of their ideals that genetic engineering to enhance humanity is wrong. Her personality took a turn for the worse after the death of her father. Her dislike towards coordinators was radicalized into hate/racism and vowed vengeance.

She became mentally/emotionally fragile, but had clarity over revenge against the Coordinators. Using her body and romantic ties with Coordinator Kira Yamato, she manipulated Kira to fight against his fellow Coordinators. As time passed though, her feelings toward Kira were indicated to have become genuine, as she expressed concern for him. After reaching to an Alliance base, Flay officially became a true soldier of the Alliance, but her tenure was short as the base was attacked and Rau Le Creuset had taken her in as a guest. After regaining her emotional sanity and getting better perspective of the conflict, she matured and realized her actions had lasting consequences upon the people she affected; she redeemed herself by alerting the Alliance ship Archangel of an imminent attack.

Skills & Abilities
Flay is naturally talented in emotional and psychological manipulation to people. She's capable of extending her emotional insecurities onto others, inciting public unrest amongst her peers; she's also capable of using her womanly charms to emotionally manipulate people to do her bidding. After she was converted into a military officer for the alliance, she was trained in the basics of side arms, but she has a very basic level of training, lacking any serious military skills due to the expedient need for officers rushed into the front-line.

Gundam Seed
Flay is shown to be living on Heliopolis at the beginning of the series. Her fiancé is Sai Argyle, which was arranged by their parents. On Orb's colony Heliopolis, Flay receives a letter from Sai. Suddenly, ZAFT launches an attack on the colony, prompting its populace to seek shelter in the lifeboats. Flay was separated from her friends for the duration of the attack. Eventually, the colony gave way and imploded, causing the lifeboats to eject. However, the boat Flay was on had malfunctioned and was dead in space. Kira Yamato, who was piloting the mobile suit Strike, retrieved it and brought it into the Archangel. As she was helped out of the boat, she notices Kira and leaps towards him. At first, she presumes she is on a ZAFT ship, due to the presence of the Strike but Kira assured her that they are on an Alliance vessel and that their friends are already onboard.

After evading ZAFT several times, the Archangel began to run low on supplies and required salvage from the wreckage of Junius 7. During the sweep, Kira finds a life pod, which he brings onboard. The pod door opens in the hanger, with a pink-haired girl and a little spherical robot called Haro inside. The girl introduces herself as Lacus Clyne, a famous singer and the daughter of the current PLANT chairman, Siegel Clyne. Flay later refused to even bring food to Lacus' quarters, afraid that she might get hurt. Miriallia pointed out that Kira was nearby, also a Coordinator; Flay defends that he's different but doesn't trust Lacus, thinking she was from ZAFT. Lacus comes in, correcting her that ZAFT is the military and that she is actually from the PLANTs. She tries to befriend Flay but is rebuffed, refusing to have anything to do with a Coordinator. As Lacus is escorted back to her room, Kuzzey asks if she is with Blue Cosmos; Flay denies it but explains that she agrees with their doctrine that Coordinators aren't natural.

The Archangel rendezvoused with an escort from the Eighth fleet. On one of the cruisers, was her father. Flay was so excited to be reunited with him. Unfortunately, ZAFT attacked again. Flay took Lacus to the bridge and threatened to kill her unless ZAFT calls off their attack. Unfortunately, the warning came too late, as her father was killed. Flay blamed Kira for not protecting her father, claiming that he was secretly loyal to his fellow Coordinators.

Flay decided to enlist in the Alliance when the Archangel rendezvoused with the Eighth Fleet. During the rendezvous, the Cruset team attacked and Kira was nowhere to be found. She attempted to suit up and pilot the Strike herself. However, Kira returned, dissuading her from doing so and vowing to protect everyone. 'Moved' by the actions, she kisses Kira and allows him to do so. However, when the battle goes south and Kira is rendered catatonic over the battle, she decides to take advantage of Kira's state, seducing (including having sex with) and manipulating him. These actions would lead her to break up with Sai, leading to him to suffer himself and attempt to show up Kira. She was present during all their battles en route to JOSH-A. When the young crew is able to be reunited with their parents, Flay snapped at Kira for trying to pity her.

After Kira fought Athrun, Kira disappeared and everyone on the ship then believed he was dead. Distraught, Flay approached Sai for comfort, telling him that her feelings for Kira were never really true. Sai, however, claimed that she was deluding herself. Later, she was promoted to another ship. Then, during ZAFT's Operation Spit Break, she was abducted by ZAFT commander Rau Le Creuset. However, she was treated less like a prisoner and began to respect Coordinators.

During a fight between Dominion and Archangel, Rau decided to release Flay towards Dominion. First, Azrael thought that it was a trap, and then Flay said she had the key to ending the war. Azrael changed his mind and ordered Natarle to capture Flay's pod. Kira tried to stop Calamity from taking her to the Dominion, but he was ambushed by Raider and Forbidden. After Flay was taken into the Dominion, she realized that Kira was the pilot of Freedom when she heard his voice over the radio. And there she met her new superior, Natarle Badguriel. She's served in the Dominion's bridge in some battles.

After the destruction of Boaz, Flay doesn't want to see battles anymore. Natarle just tells her to stay in her room, because they are going to see more battles. She also tells Natarle that she's wanted to see Kira and the Archangel. But she said that there's a slim chance of seeing them. During the Second Battle of Jachin Due, Flay tries to contact Kira and the Archangel, when Azrael points a gun at her, threatening to execute those who disobey his order of eliminating all Coordinators, which makes her frightened. Howeverm Natarle stands up to Azrael, who was more concerned with the destruction of the PLANTs than GENESIS, takes the bullet for Flay, and orders her and the rest of the crew to evacuate the Dominion. As they flee the ship's destruction, Flay tells the crew to get to the Archangel.

Death
Flay's shuttle is destroyed by a laser blast from Rau Le Creuset's Providence Gundam, thus ending the young woman's life shockingly right in front of the eyes of Kira Yamato, who's been trying to save her at the time. However, her spirit appears to Kira, expressing her deep regrets with sincere apologies, and assures him with great comfort that her true feelings will protect him. Filled with deep anguish and rage, Kira goes into SEED mode and goes off to avenge Flay by killing off Le Creuset.

Notes and Trivias

 * Gundam SEED's director, Mitsuo Fukuda states that Flay's ghost didn't actually appear. The scene was merely a way to illustrate what Flay could've said to Kira.
 * Both incidentally and Coincidentally, Houku Kuwashima, voices both Flay Allster in Gundam SEED and Stella Loussier in Gundam SEED Destiny, who share similar fate and appear in their spitual form to calm and comfort their love interests respectively.
 * In early draft of Gundam SEED, Flay was suppose to be Strike Rouge's pilot and used by Earth Alliance for propaganda. This is referenced in SD Gundam G Generation DS's Rival Route where she does indeed join the party as a pilot and the Strike Rouge as her initial suit.
 * In the same game it's possible to save her, adding an ID command to the archangel that prevents a battle encounter, though letting her die may enhance Kira's SEED hyper mode.
 * In the game Super Robot Wars W for the Nintendo DS, Flay is saved from death much earlier on, when the Neue Welltar (the unified team of mecha heroes including the Archangel group) intercept Flay (placed in a remote-controlled GINN) before she is picked up by the Dominion while carrying the N-Jammer Canceler data (in fact, the original TV scenario of being recovered by the Dominion results in a game over).
 * The changed events of the series changes her character development, avoiding most if not all the negative changes.
 * Flay's relationship with Kira can be compared to Sochie's relationship with Rolan from Turn A Gundam.
 * English voice actress Tabitha St. Germain who voice Flay Allster also voiced Shana from Shakugan no Shana. Flay and Lacus's English voice actresses, Tabitha St. Germain and Chantal Strand, play a similar love triangle relationship role with Shana and Kazumi Yoshida from Shakugan no Shana.
 * Tabitha St. Germain also voiced Rarity in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which is much stranger considering that Maryke Hendrikse voiced Spitfire, Matt Hill voiced Soarin' and Chantal Strand voiced Diamond Tiara. Who in turn, those actors portrayed Lunamaria Hawke, Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne.
 * Flay and Soma Peries/Marie Parfacy also share the same voice actress in the English dub.
 * Her role on the Archangel is similar to Fraw Bow's role on White Base. They were both in charge of household duties on the ship, instead of combat. They were in the middle of a love triangle between two friends, that caused one to develop an inferoity complex. With Flay the triangle is between her, Kira and Sai, while Fraw's triangle was between, her, Amuro and Hayato. But in personality she was more similar to Katejina Loos.
 * In Mobile SuitGundam Extreme VS, Fllay appears as a Cameo for Kira's EX Burst for the Freedom.