Jerid Messa (ジェリド・メサ Jerido Mesa?) is a character introduced in the anime Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. A member of the Earth Federation's counter-insurgent organization Titans, he is best known for being the archrival of Kamille Bidan.
Personality & Character[]
Jerid has the typical traits of a Titan member: being ruthless, egotistical, overconfident and an absolute disregard for the lives of civilians. Jerid has the ambition to one day become the Titans leader, but wishes to do so his own way without the help of others. However, despite his pride as an Earthnoid he would ask the help of Lila to better himself as a soldier. On a similar note, he is extremely arrogant to believe that the Titans have the power to deem what they do as right, despite that his arrogance only sparked hatred and mistrust to the public population. His rivalry with Kamille becomes bitter hatred when his comrades die one by one, and he blames Kamille's very existence for his loss. Ultimately, his arrogance and hatred brought forth his demise at the hands of his rival, and puts his ambitions to rest.
Skills & Abilities[]
Although Jerid survived many battles throughout the Gryps War, his piloting skills were considerably average at best. Most of the time, Jerid proved to be more of an overall nuisance than a genuine challenge in battle, with any real threat pertaining to the power of his newest mobile suit or the support of more-talented pilots backing him up. Jerid's skill as a pilot did begin to increase towards the end of the war, allowing him to proficiently pilot experimental mobile suits such as the Byarlant and Baund Doc, although not nearly to the level pilots such as Kamille and Scirocco exhibited.
History[]
Background[]
Jerid Messa was born into a family of trained soldiers in U.C. 0063. After achieving high results on a military aptitude test, Jerid qualified to join the elite Federation unit, the Titans. He was sent to train at Green Noa I, where he first encountered Kamille Bidan. When Jerid made fun of Kamille's feminine name, Kamille punched him.
Later, as Jerid was training on one of the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II prototypes, he was responsible for crashing into a government building, and causing much damage. He abandoned his mobile suit, and it was later moved to a building where, after a confusing battle inside the colony, the AEUG was able to steal it.
Battle of Green Noa I[]
After Quattro Bajeena and Kamille Bidan escaped from "Green Noa I" with the two Mark II prototypes, they were retrieved by the AEUG flagship, Argama. In space, Titan's Commander, Bask Om launches Lt. Emma Sheen (with the last Gundam Mk-II) to the Argama with specific orders of retrieving the stolen prototypes. Nearby, Jerid waits in a RMS-106 Hizack and opens his orders, which are to destroy a capsule (that was released to space) if the AEUG attempts to retrieve it.
After the negotiations between the Titans and the AEUG are broken, Kamille launches from the ship with the Gundam Mk-II in a desperate attempt to rescue his mother, Hilda Bidan, revealed to be inside the capsule. When Kamille approaches, Jerid starts shooting at the capsule, believing that the capsule is a bomb that would destroy Kamille. Instead, the shots destroyed the capsule, killing Hilda.
Although Jerid later apologized to Kamille and explained what truly happened, their rivalry started once again, because Jerid didn't forget Kamille's arrogant attitude in Green Noa I and because he didn't want to be disgraced by a kid. After a prolonged fight and the defection of Lt. Emma Sheen to the AEUG, Jerid is forced to retreat.
Quest for the Argama[]
Back in the Alexandria, Jerid meets Lila Milla Rira, an Earth Federation pilot. Titan's Commander Jamaican Daninghan decides that Jerid will lead the next attack on the AEUG. Shortly afterwards he asks Lila to teach him how to survive in space combat, holding back his previous pride for help. After he fails in his attempt to destroy the Gundam Mk-II, Lila tells Jerid to feel the hostile intent of his enemy when fighting in space, since it is not the same as fighting on Earth. Lila defends Jerid from the wrath of Jamaican, stating that the crew of the Argama is composed of Newtype's. By doing this, Lila managed to earn Jerid's both respect and admiration.
In TV version, while pursuing the Argama, the Titans and E.F.S.F reach the Space Colony 30. Once there, Lila and the Federal Forces fought against Kamille and the Anti-Earth Union Group. Jamaican, aware that Jerid was eager to join them and support Lila, refuses to accept any plead of help from the Federal Forces. Thus, Jerid is forced to watch the outcome of the battle from the bridge of the Alexandria; that is, Lila's death at the hands of Kamille. (In the movie version, after Lila's unit was destroyed by Kamille before atmospheric entry, Jerid could feel Lila's death, though he was not sure for that, he said he would get revenge for Lila in atmospheric entry, but he was trying to find Lila when he enters Jaburo.)
Battle of Jaburo[]
After seeing Lila's death, Jerid swore to avenge her death by killing Kamille Bidan. He gets an opportunity when he is ordered to attack Anti-Earth Union Group forces in satellite orbit. During this battle, he is unable to beat Kamille. Jerid is also shocked to see his good friend Kacricon Cacooler die when his ballute is destroyed by Kamille. This action causes Kacricon to meet a painful death in the Earth's atmosphere.
The battle continues when the AEUG forces landed on earth. They penetrated the defenses at the base, only to learn that a nuclear bomb is timed to explode. Jerid attacks Kamille inside the base, hoping to kill him. Again, he fails, and his Marasai is severely damaged. He is able to escape the base before it's destruction by commandeering a jeep with several Federation soldiers. He then fights his way onto an escape vessel, only surviving because a hand pulled him into the crowded ship. It belonged to another Titans pilot, Mouar Pharaoh.
Operation Apollo[]
Afterwards, Jerid is seen serving under Scirocco, where he is given the RX-110 Gabthley. During this time, he and Mouar become lovers, and the two of them launch attacks against the Argama. During a surprise attack against the Argama, Mouar is killed trying to protect him from Kamille, in his MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam. Jerid, cursing Kamille for killing people close to him, attempts to attack but gets damaged by Kamille. Mouar's spirit then gives him a Newtype vision, telling him that he is the only one that can lead the people down the right path. After this, Jerid renews his attack in pure rage, doing more damage to the Argama than he has ever done before his mobile suit is disabled by Kamille and Emma.
He was then sent to the Earth base of Kilimanjaro. While being treated, he comes across Kamille, who had infiltrated the base and ran into Four Murasame. When Kamille begins to convince Four to get out of the Psycho Gundam and go with him, Jerid boards the as-of-yet-incomplete RX-160 Byarlant and charges toward them with his beam saber drawn, but ends up killing Four when she blocks the strike with the Psycho Gundam. Seizing the Byarlant as his new personal mobile suit, he follows the AEUG to Dakar and attacks the city, in hopes to shut down the communications tower, which Char was using for his address. He retreats when favor sways from the Titans and heads back into space. (In the movie version, he remain in the space after Mouar's death, and the Byarlant was assigned to him afterwards.)
Battle of Gryps[]
During the Battle of The Gate of Zedan, Jerid appears, exhibiting superb battle skills. When Axis is slammed into the Gate of Zedan, Jerid launches to protect the fleeing Titans in the Byarlant. In the ensuing battle, Jerid shoots down Lieutenant Apolly Bay, who was protecting Fa Yuiry. An interesting note, is that during Jerid's charge towards the Gwadan, Haman Karn senses a psychic pressure from Jerid, which suggests that Jerid has begun to unlock his Newtype potential (In the movies, he was just being shot and retreats). This attests for his ability to later fight in the NRX-055 Baund Doc, a machine created especially for Newtypes. Jerid is seen using the Baund Doc on a raid against the Radish at the Battle of Gryps, and then duels with Kamille. Jerid has the misfortune of challenging Kamille as he goes to rescue Emma, which results in Kamille arriving seconds too late. Instead, the AEUG battleship Radish rescues Emma at the price of its destruction at the hands of Titans ace pilot Yazan Gable. Jerid then attempts to continue the duel, and Kamille dispatches Jerid after a short battle, sending him flying into the remains of the exploding Radish. With his last breath, Jerid curses Kamille's existence, as a barrier to his ascension in the ranks of the Titans.
Gallery[]
Character Designs[]
Anime[]
Manga[]
Illustrations & Artwork[]
Games[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- In the tabletop game Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Jerid's Deployment Orders, a 23-year old Jerid was a trainee pilot together with Emma Sheen and Kacricon Cacooler on board the Graf Zeppelin, a hovering aircraft carrier of the Titans Training Academy. Just before the events of Zeta Gundam, the trio thwarted a terrorist attack on the Federation Forces Backlund base in Alaska; and for their deed, they were assigned to be the test pilots for the Gundam Mk-II. The canonity of this material remains questioned.
- In SD G Generation DS, if you finish the entire Rival Route, including the Encore Sessions, Jerid Messa will lose his Newtype Ability. This could be an overlooked mistake in the game before publishing.
- In SD Gundam G Generation Overworld, Jerid has no awaken stat at all, making him incapable of using Newtype specific weaponry to it's fullest potential and can't have his stat improved without needing a skill to give him this stat. Given the very few hints of Jerid being a Newtype within the show, the developers may not have realized he was one.
- He is viewed as a joke in a sizable number of the fandom due to how he fails to rise to being a true rival rather than an annoyance that he became at the series' end as he was overshadowed by Yazan Gable and Paptimus Scirocco. Another popular joke was that the events of Zeta Gundam would've never occurred if Jerid simply ignored Kamille in their first encounter. The first Dynasty Warriors Gundam game appeared to be aware of this and has him training under Master Asia.
- In the show Jerid's rank insignia is very inconsistent, often switching back and forth between lieutenant junior grade and full lieutenant. This is possibly due to a misunderstanding in the illustration team where perhaps one artist always drew him as a full lieutenant and another artist depicted him as a junior lieutenant.
- In Super Robot Wars V, Jerid survives to the events of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and pilots the RX-160S Byarlant Custom. He becomes part of the Federation's elite "G-Hound" unit, an adversary of the Londo Bell, along with Yazan Gable, Buran Blutarch, Lane Aime, and eventually, Riddhe Marcenas. It is also possible to recruit him as a playable character in this game by fulfilling certain conditions.
- Jerid makes a small appearance in Around Thirty Office Worker Haman-sama where he is stated to be Mouar's boyfriend. As a reference to his failures, Jerid is known to be fired from several jobs, though Mouar states that he's just unlucky and is still actively job hunting.
- Jerid appears in the Extreme Vs. series acting as the pilot for both the Baund Doc and the combination of the Marasai and Gabthley though the pair were later split into individual slots. Due to him sharing the same voice actor as Gai Murakumo, Johnny Ridden and Flit Asuno, he will offer special dialogue with the former two. When paired with Asemu Asuno, the youth wonders why Jerid sounds much like his father, while Jerid immediately takes offense with the implication of being old. He also takes particular interest with the other Universal Century protagonists, Banagher Links, Judau Ashta and Nu Amuro Ray.
- Despite consistently failing, Jerid is seen in higher and higher positions and is consistently given new and experimental mobile suits. While he never formally goes to a higher rank, he is given command of his own MS team for a time and later reports directly to Jamitov.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
- Episode 12, The Winds of Jaburo
- Episode 1, The Black Gundam
- First Appearance
- Episode 2, Departure
- Episode 3, Inside the Capsule
- Episode 4, Emma's Decision
- Episode 5, Father and Son
- Episode 6, To Earth
- Episode 8, The Dark Side of the Moon
- Episode 9, A New Bond
- Episode 10, Reunion
- Episode 11, Entering the Atmosphere
- Episode 49, Casualties of War
- Deceased
- Movies
References[]