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Rey Za Burrel (レイ・ザ・バレル Rei Za Bareru?) is a character introduced in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.

Personality & Character[]

Rey is a calm and collected character who does not show much emotion, but in front of Gilbert Durandal, the person who raised him, he can be so happy that he blushes. Perhaps because Rey has a "family" like Gilbert and friends of the same age like Shinn Asuka and Lunamaria Hawke, he doesn't hate the world and want to destroy everything like Rau Le Creuset does. However, he believes that he, as a clone, and Kira Yamato, an ultimate coordinator created through artificial means, are against the natural order and should be destroyed.

Skill & Abilities[]

Rey is an ace pilot of ZAFT. He has excellent spatial awareness, and showed a wide range of attack variations and detailed manipulation techniques in the operation of the DRAGOON system. Able to maintain coolness in tough battles along with good situation analysis, Rey often assumes a leadership role to help keep a more hot-blooded Shinn calm while creating openings for his partner to attack. Apart from his skills as a pilot, Rey has been shown to be an adept piano player.

Physical Aspects & Clothing[]

History[]

Background[]

Like Rau Le Creuset, Rey was a clone of Al Da Flaga, created by G.A.R.M. R&D to raise funds for the Ultimate Coordinator Project. For unknown reasons, he was much younger than Rau.[1] He went with Rau to the PLANTs where he met Gilbert Durandal, who became his father figure.

First Alliance-PLANT War[]

Rey was enrolled at ZAFT's military academy with Meyrin Hawke, Lunamaria Hawke and Shinn Asuka. On the day Siegel Clyne and some of his followers were executed due to Lacus's betrayal, Rey, Meyrin, Lunamaria and Shinn listened to Patrick Zala's speech about the oppression perpetuated by the Naturals against them, out of envy for their developed abilities even though it was Naturals who created Coordinators in the first place.[2]

At some point after the war, Durandal informed Rey of Rau's death, but also told him that he was also Rau.[3] This caused him to view himself as no different from Rau. Like Rau, he grew to blame the world for his tragic fate. He would come to believe that only Durandal could create a world where there would be no more children like them.[4]

Second Alliance-PLANT War[]

On October 2, C.E. 73, Durandal met Orb Union representative Cagalli Yula Athha at Armory One. Meanwhile, Phantom Pain forces infiltrated the base and stole ZAFT's newest mobile suits, the ZGMF-X24S Chaos Gundam, ZGMF-X88S Gaia Gundam, and ZGMF-X31S Abyss Gundam.[5] Rey tried to stop the three stolen mobile suits from escaping with his white ZGMF-1001 ZAKU Phantom along with Shinn Asuka in the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam. They then faced Neo Roanoke, the leader of the Phantom Pain team, in the TS-MA4F Exus. During the battle, Rey demonstrated a telepathic connection with Neo.

The Minerva was sent into an Extendeds' facility in Lodonia, the place where Extendeds were created and trained. During this event, Rey experienced a strange and unexplained reaction.

At the Battle of Crete, his ZAKU Phantom was severely damaged while defending the Minerva from Orb mobile suits. Later, when Stella Loussier was held hostage on the Minerva, Rey helped Shinn return her to the Earth Alliance. Both were confined as punishment and could have been executed but were released on Gilbert Durandal's orders.

Operation Angel Down[]

Later, Rey and Shinn devised a strategy to defeat the ZGMF-X10A Freedom which they successfully accomplished; but the pilot Kira Yamato survived. Afterward, Rey helped Gilbert Durandal frame Athrun Zala as a traitor, and detected Athrun's attempt to escape with Meyrin Hawke in a ZGMF-2000 GOUF Ignited. Rey accompanied Shinn in destroying the mobile suit, as his words urged Shinn to destroy it, leading to the apparent deaths of Athrun and Meyrin.

Piloting the Legend[]

After the departure of Athrun, he became the pilot of the ZGMF-X666S Legend Gundam which was originally intended for Athrun. The mobile suit was a direct improvement of the ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam. Both mobile suit's model numbers have unfavorable connotations: 13. Providence's model number is considered unlucky in many cultures, and 666 is the "number of the beast" ("the devil's number"). In the battle at Heaven's Base, Rey worked with Shinn in his ZGMF-X42S Destiny to form a formidable team. Rey was then awarded the order of the Nebula; he and Shinn were then appointed as members FAITH. During Operation Fury, Rey faced the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato, while Shinn faced the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice Gundam piloted by Athrun. At the Battle of Daedalus, Rey devised a strategy for Lunamaria Hawke and her ZGMF-X56S Impulse to destroy the Requiem's control base, while Rey destroyed a squad of GFAS-X1 Destroy Gundam. Rey also killed Lord Djibril as he was trying to escape in the Girty Lue.

Destiny Plan[]

Later, Chairman Durandal unveiled "the Destiny Plan," a plan that would cause everyone to be governed by their genetic "destiny", therefore making war obsolete. Shinn hesitated, but Rey once again uses his words to convince Shinn that the "Destiny Plan" was the right thing to do. He went as far as even revealing his own origins and his "brother's", Rau Le Creuset's. He confided to Shinn that he was a clone, just like his "other self" Rau, among the several clones of the powerful and mysterious Atlantic Federation politician, Al Da Flaga. Rey mentioned that he was the "predecessor" 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. Like Rau, he also suffered from pain that requires medication, due to the shortening of telomeres, a section on either end of strands of the DNA in his cells. This shortening was related to many of the effects of aging. Due to this, Rey knew that he did not have much of a future. However, he still passionately supported the "Destiny Plan".

Battle of Messiah[]

In the final battle, Rey was determined to destroy Kira because he was an obstacle in the plan. Kira points out that despite Rey being a clone, his life is his own and manages to sway him away from the plan. Kira then heavily damaged the Legend. Rey then took his badly damaged Legend to the space fortress Messiah, where he found Kira and Durandal in a standoff. Moved by Kira's words, Rey shot Durandal. Due to the damage the fortress sustained at the hands of Kira's Strike Freedom, the Messiah exploded. Rey chose to remain onboard and die with Durandal and Talia Gladys, whom he called "mother" at the very last moment.[3]

Relationships[]

Rau Le Creuset[]

Rey looks up to Rau as a fellow clone, and is upset when he dies. He blames Kira for his death and tries to defeat him. Upon Durandal's suggestion, he sees himself as Rau and tries to fill his shoes until Kira tells him to be his own person.

Gilbert Durandal[]

Rey looks up to Durandal immensely and sees him as a father figure. He unconditionally trusts Durandal no matter the order, and works his hardest to help him in any way he can, even manipulating Shinn. He is furious with Athrun for not following Durandal and wants Shinn to serve Durandal in his stead. After meeting Kira and listening to Kira's conversation with Durandal, Rey finally starts to harbor doubts and prefers Kira's opinion, which led to him ultimately shooting Durandal instead of Kira. Rey broke down crying, apologizing to Durandal. Knowing that Rey couldn't live without Durandal, Talia calls him over and the trio remains behind in the crumbling fortress where they all die together.

Shinn Asuka[]

Rey and Shinn are close friends throughout the series, but it is left ambiguous as to how much of their friendship is genuine and how much of it is just Rey using Shinn for Durandal's benefit. Rey often overlooks Shinn's faults and enables him to do what he wants, which Shinn appreciates. He helps him on multiple occasions and pushes him to become stronger. He entrusts Shinn with looking after Durandal after he dies and constantly works to remove any of Shinn's doubts about the chairman and his plans.

Neo Roanoke/Mu La Flaga[]

The two don't interact but are able to sense each others' presence, much like Mu La Flaga and Le Creuset.

Kira Yamato[]

Rey resents Kira for killing Rau Le Creuset and helps Shinn to defeat him. When Kira returns, he is angered. He eventually tries to defeat Kira himself but fails, and is instead moved by Kira's message about being himself. He is further moved by Kira's arguments against Durandal, and ends up shooting Durandal instead of Kira.

Quotes[]

Quote:Rey Za Burrel

Gallery[]

Character Designs[]

Anime[]

Illustrations & Artwork[]

Games[]

Notes & Trivia[]

  • 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 spatial awareness. However, this is not the official story settings. Rey also made his debut appearance in the Super Robot Wars franchise as a playable character in Super Robot Wars Z for the PlayStation 2, where he can be convinced to join the player's side. This is also true for both Super Robot Wars K and Super Robot Wars L for the Nintendo DS.
  • Rey came in 10th place in the Anime Grand Prix 27th (2004).
  • In Super Robot Wars L, Rey is the only Minerva crew who does not betray ZAFT and join the Three Ships Alliance in the Battle of Messiah. Unlike in the show, he insists that Kira needs to die for Durandal's new world to be created after Kira tells him that he is his own person. However, if he is shot down by Shinn after he battles with Kira, (After which he reveals that he is a clone of Rau Le Creuset.) he can be convinced to leave Messiah and join the player in his Legend Gundam after the battle.
  • Several scenes and flashbacks show Rey playing the piano, a trait he shares with another tragically fallen ZAFT pilot.
  • Rey was nicknamed "Shiroi Bouzu" (白い坊主) by Neo Roanoke during their first encounter outside of Armory One. This is his usual usage of "boy"/"brat", with the white part referring to Rey's custom-colored Zaku Phantom.
  • In Gundam SEED DESTINY Suit CD Vol. 6's Suit Mini-Drama "Academy Advancement Exam", Rey is depicted as an excellent student. In actuality, he just does his very best so as not to disappoint Gilbert Durandal. Rey was totally mortified when Gilbert came to visit the academy at the very same day that he was called in for a retake along with Shinn and Lunamaria (the latter two of whom borrowed his notes and in turn had similar answers for the free essay part; as a result, the Academy faculty suspected all three students of cheating). On top of that, Shinn scores higher than Rey does on the make-up exam, making him feel "left behind" in more ways than one.

Appearances[]

Television Series

References[]



Information is currently being retrieved from the backend.
 
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