Heine Westenfluss (ハイネ・ヴェステンフルス Haine Vestenfurusu?) is a character introduced in The anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.
Personality & Character[]
Heine was decidedly an optimistic, but realistic, soldier who didn't stand too much on ceremony, and was also quite talkative and earnest in his attempts to raise the morale of his fellow pilots. Despite considering himself an elite, Heine was respected by both superiors and subordinates as a capable pilot and officer. Heine also had a sense of pride in his skills, seen when he tried to continue to assault the Freedom Gundam after it had beaten him, despite his GOUF Ignited being damaged, which ultimately led to his demise. Although Heine was part of Athrun Zala's squad after his transfer to the Minerva, Heine was treated almost as a superior to Athrun by his peers, even by Athrun himself. Athrun and the rest of the Minerva crew were left saddened by Heine's death, demonstrating how much they cared for and respected him. Athrun went so far as to almost once again have a grudge against Kira, whom he blamed for Heine's death (even though Kira was only indirectly responsible due to Stella directly killing him).
Skills & Abilities[]
Heine Westenfluss is considered an ace pilot of ZAFT, not only wearing the ZAFT red uniform, given to pilots who have graduated at the top of their class, but also wears the FAITH insignia on his uniform, indicating that he's of the FAITH detachment, to which only the best of the ZAFT elite are allowed to join. Being a member of FAITH also means Heine can issue orders to other non-FAITH soldiers as well as plan battle operations, Heine also only reports directly to either Chairman Gilbert Durandal or the PLANT Supreme Council. Heine was extremely skilled in battle using his custom mobile suits, an orange Blaze ZAKU Phantom, and later an orange GOUF Ignited. The depth of his skill was seen during the Battle of Dardanelles, where he fought against the ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam, not only holding his own against the mobile suit but even pushing it back despite the Gaia being a more advanced mobile suit than his GOUF Ignited.
In Gundam SEED Destiny: The Edge, Heine is shown to be an excellent shooter being second only to Athrun during their brief stay with the Minerva.
Physical Aspects & Clothing[]
History[]
Early Life[]
Heine Westenfluss was born on September 19, CE 52 in September City; not much is known about Heine during his upbringing, but what is known is that he joined ZAFT on February 21, CE 68 and attended the military academy where he graduated at the top of his class. Joining the ZAFT military at the age of sixteen and as a red coat, Heine's fellow soldiers already regarded him as an ace. When the First Alliance-PLANT War broke out, Heine was assigned to Hawkins team and saw combat during the war.
Second Alliance-PLANT War[]
When ZAFT's New Millennium Series of mobile suits came out, Heine, having proven himself as an excellent combatant during the First Alliance-PLANT War, was given a ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom in his own custom colors. With the tragedy of the Junius Seven drop and the subsequent declaration of the Second Alliance-PLANT War, Heine and the Hawkins Team were once again called out to the front lines.
Battle of Aprilius One[]
Heine took part in the Battle of Aprilius One in his custom ZAKU Phantom and engaged several of the Earth Alliance's GAT-02L2 Dagger L mobile suits. The battle ended in victory for ZAFT, and Heine's performance in the battle had been noted as exceptional, as he destroyed a great number of mobile suits and several battleships.
Encounter with Serpent Tail & Promotion[]
Heine was later made leader of his own team; while on a mission with a wingmate, they encounter Gai Murakumo and Elijah Kiel of Serpent Tail and the pairs quickly engaged in battle. Gai in his MBF-P03 Gundam Astray Blue Frame ended up killing Heine's wingmate, which prompted an enraged Heine to attempt to kill Elijah, though only succeeded in badly damaging his ZGMF-1017 GINN Elijah Kiel Custom, forcing the mercenaries into a retreat. Impressed by his skill, Gilbert Durandal invited Heine to join FAITH, but Westenfluss initially declined, as he was not obsessed with promotions, though he later accepted the offer, and received a ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited in his custom colors.
Joining the Minerva & the Battle of Dardanelles[]
Heine was later taken to Gibraltar Base, where he escorted Athrun Zala, Shinn Asuka, and Lunamaria Hawke to meet Chairman Durandal at Diocuia after the Battle of Gulnahan. Afterward, Heine's Team disbanded and he was reassigned to the crew of the Minvera. Soon after he took part in the Battle of Dardanelles, where he fought against Stella Loussier and her ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam, and was able to maintain the upper hand. With the arrival and interference in the battle by the Archangel and ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, piloted by Kira Yamato, Heine attempted to stop Kira from further disabling ZAFT's mobile suits, only to have his GOUF’s right forearm severed. Not wanting to be insulted, he tried to attack Kira from behind, only to get in the way of Stella who also attacked Kira with beam blades on her Gundam's wings, resulting in Heine's mobile suit as well as his body being sliced in half, killing him. His death came as a shock to the Minerva crew (especially Shinn and Athrun) who mourn Heine's loss.
Legacy[]
As he was already a FAITH member and after achieving several achivements during his time as a soldier, a specially adjusted ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam with an orange-based color palette matching his personal colors was prepared for him. However, his MS was never deployed due to his death.
Gundam SEED Destiny: The Edge[]
Heine also appeared in the manga adaptation of Gundam SEED Destiny; while his role and fate remain the same, in this version he was shown to be involved in the Battle of Gulnahan, together with his team. During the battle, the team leader ordered his men not to retreat and to hang in there while Shinn made his way to the "Lohengrin" cannon. After the battle, his team was disbanded. Also, Athrun used him as an excuse to get away from Meer Campbell during the night at Diocuia. The two FAITH pilots later went drinking. During this drinking session, Heine expressed his sadness that one of his men had died in their last battle together; he then said that he did not wish to get used to the feeling of not looking back when one of his own fell, and to march forward until the end of the battle.
Heine's death at Dardanelles is treated slightly different. Instead of being caught from behind by the Gaia, Heine orders Shinn to return to the Minerva to repair his unit before charging straight towards the Freedom and ignores Athrun's attempts to stop him. As Athrun had predicted, Kira responds to the attack by slicing most of the GOUF Ignited apart, but Heine is finished off by the Gaia as his defenseless unit plummeted.
Quote[]
Gallery[]
Character Designs[]
Anime[]
Illustrations & Artwork[]
Games[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- In the Original release, although Heine's Custom ZAKU Phantom appears in SEED Destiny Episode 9, Bared Fangs, Heine himself wasn't introduced until episode 19, The Hidden Truth. This was changed in the HD Remaster, with a quick shot of Heine in his ZAKU Phantom's cockpit during the Battle of Aprilius One.
- In the heat of the battle against the Gaia Gundam in the Battle Of Dardanelles, Heine shouted "This is no Zaku!!" similar to the line that Ramba Ral used when he was fighting Amuro Ray's RX-78-2 Gundam. In the Japanese script, Heine repeats Ral's lines word-for-word (ザクとは違うのだよザクとは!).
- Heine Westenfluss is voiced by the singer of T.M. Revolution, Takanori Nishikawa, who sang the first opening for Gundam SEED, "INVOKE", as well as the insert songs "Meteor" and "Zips" (in Gundam SEED: Special Edition), the first opening for Gundam SEED Destiny, "IGNITED" and the insert song "Vestige". Heine resembles Takanori in many ways. Both have long blonde hair, both like the orange color, and the name "Westenfluss" is a wordplay of Nishikawa's name, as both Westenfluss and Nishikawa mean "west river"; and "Heine" was a play on his nickname "(Haine)" while he was part of the band "Luis-Mary". The name of his mobile suit, ZGMF-X2000 GOUF Ignited, is most likely a reference to the song he sang for Gundam SEED Destiny, "Ignited".
- Takanori Nishikawa also voice Miguel Aiman for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
- Though Heine has no formal appearance in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny, his (and Miguel's) customized MS and others that he didn't actually pilot but sport his trademark colors (like the Destiny Gundam: Heine Custom) are given the spotlight in the Another Arc mission called "Orange Shoulder". The title comes from a group of ZAFT pilots who had the spike shoulder armor of their Zaku Warriors painted orange in Heine's honor. Said MS is also an unlockable unit.
- Heine is featured in the Extreme Vs series as the pilot for the GOUF Ignited and the what-if Destiny Gundam: Heine Custom, the latter being a powered down version of Shinn's Destiny. Additionally, Heine cannot use the Destiny's High-Energy Long-Range Beam Cannon in a sustained shot, and his movements when using the Destiny's Voiture Lumiere are different from Shinn's.
- Heine is impressed by members of the Le Creuset Team; taking particular notice of both Nicol Amalfi and Yzak Joule. His status as FAITH is also respected by several ZAFT pilots from SEED. Conversely, GOUF Heine will express surprise regarding Destiny Shinn and Rey Za Burrel's later promotions to members of FAITH.
- When paired with Norris Packard, Heine will express interest in the veteran's MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom's design. Similarly, he is startled by the appearance of the YMT-05 Hildolfr, though Demeziere Sonnen replies that "it isn't just any tank".
- In SD gundam G Generations Cross Rays, despite following the television script, Heine's death is never depicted, and implied to have survived the battle of Dardanelles.
- American voice actor, Michael Sinterniklaas also voice Angelo Sauper from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.
- In the original version, Heine's image is displayed in the explosion of his GOUF Ignited following his death. His image is removed in the HD Remaster.
- In SRW Heine's death is always depicted with the exemption of SRW K where he is a secret character. Most of the time he is a unplayable character but his death will always happen.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- PHASE-09, Bared Fangs
- HD Remaster Only
- PHASE-19, The Hidden Truth
- First Appearance
- PHASE-21, Wandering Eyes
- PHASE-22, Sword of the Blue Skies
- PHASE-23, The Shadows of War
- Decease
- PHASE-09, Bared Fangs
References[]