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Fraw Kobayashi (フラウ・コバヤシ Furau Kobayashi?) formerly known as Fraw Bow (フラウ・ボゥ Furau Bōu?) prior to her marriage to Hayato Kobayashi, is a character from the Universal Century timeline. She first appeared in Mobile Suit Gundam.
History[]
One Year War[]
With Amuro's parents separated and his father Dr. Tem Ray frequently away on business for the Earth Federation's Project V, Fraw takes it upon herself to make sure that the perhaps charitably-described "engineering nerd" or "mecha otaku" eats, sleeps, bathes, lives in some degree of cleanliness, and, when we first see her, follows military evacuation orders.
At the beginning of the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam, Fraw arrives at Amuro's house in their home colony of Side 7 on the morning of September 18, UC 0079. Fraw eventually manages to alert Amuro to the ongoing evacuation and the need to leave, but when the colony is attacked by Zeon's Zaku II mobile suits, she loses her mother and grandfather—the rest of her family—in an explosion. Indeed, she only survives because she had been chasing Amuro as it happened to make sure he was all right.
With this pivotal and catalytic moment in the story, things change forever. Seeing Fraw prostrate with grief and shock, Amuro literally forces her to run for her life—then, deeply angered and moved by witnessing her in such pain, decides to retaliate by jumping into the Federation Forces' experimental RX-78-2 "Gundam" mobile suit.
Amazingly, Amuro succeeds at MS combat despite having only the Gundam's manual in his lap, and they both escape Side 7, along with other civilians from the colony, aboard the Earth Federation Space Forces (EFSF) ship White Base.
Fraw and Amuro become crewmembers of White Base, along with Hayato and other Side 7 civilians Mirai Yashima, Sayla Mass, Kai Shiden, and Ryu Jose, along with the children Katz Hawin, Letz Cofan, and Kikka Kitamoto. Under the leadership of officer candidate Bright Noa, the ad hoc crew not only survives, but, with Amuro's growing skill as a pilot, becomes a serious threat to the Zeon forces and a crucial part of the last three months of the One Year War.
At first, Fraw stuck with Amuro, attempting to help out her childhood friend whenever possible. However, as Amuro's fights continued and he ended up becoming attracted to other women, such as Matilda Ajan and Lalah Sune, she found herself drifting apart from Amuro. However, she found comfort in fellow MS pilot Hayato, who had laid out his insecurities before her.
In the novelization, Fraw didn't stay on White Base, but on Luna 2, taking care of Katz, Letz and Kikka. Before they separated, Fraw and Amuro admitted their feelings, but were rarely able to keep in contact. As the war drew to a close, she came to the realization that Amuro may have forgotten about her, but she wanted him to come back alive. Precipitating the events of A Baoa Qu, Fraw is stricken with a horrible illness and, during that time, her own apparent Newtype abilities awaken and she talks to Amuro one last time after he dies. In the end, she ends up living alone, with custody of Katz, Letz and Kikka.
Gryps War[]
After the events of the original Gundam, Fraw married Hayato, became pregnant with his child, and adopted Katz, Letz, and Kikka. Despite all that however she is still in love with Amuro. During Zeta Gundam Katz is killed in the Battle of Gryps, and though she does not appear in Gundam ZZ she was tragically widowed when Hayato was killed during the Colony Drop on Dublin.
In Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Define, she and her adopted children are forced underground under the protection of Karaba rather than living civilian lives while Katz ran a war museum in the anime. Working off advice from Sayla Mass, she is visited by former enemy, Char Aznable as he wishes to recruit Amuro into the AEUG. Although hesitant due to fighting on opposite sides in the One Year War, she chooses to help Char, believing in the trust her husband and former White Base crewmembers had given their ex-Zeon ace. The group would successfully meet Amuro on his way back home after training recruits and would mediate Amuro's unwanted reunion with Char.
U.C. 0094[]
Following the Second Neo Zeon War and the military declaring Amuro to be deceased, Fraw would be invited to a memorial ceremony at Side 1 but would politely refuse. When Kikka brings Amuro up during their meal, Fraw remembers how Amuro, for all his piloting skills, lacked any household skills and how she'd need to pester him just to eat properly. Aware of Kikka's desire to publish a book humanizing Amuro, Fraw passes on a letter from the late Hayato to Kikka alongside Kai's business card to help her gain more information.
Gallery[]
Character Designs[]
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Trivia[]
- Fraw is the only major character in Mobile Suit Gundam to be regularly called by her full name.
- Fraw's uniform is different from the other female crew members of the White Base. The reason for this is not explained, though Gundam: The Origin established that it was a cadet uniform.
- In the first italian dub of Mobile Suit Gundam, her name was changed to "Mirka".
- Tomino has stated that Fraw is of German descent.
- Her name is likely derived from the German Frau, an honorific equivalent to Ms. in English.