Luna (Samurai Troopers)

Luna is a fictional character who appears in the "Yoroiden-Samurai Troopers" (鎧伝サムライトルーパー) (Ronin Warriors) OVA, "Gaiden" (Side Story). Her English dub name is Runa.

Luna is a 14 year old American who lives in New York and her only family is an older brother (his name was never revealed). She is a brash and hot headed girl who is ready to take action when necessary. While she isn't afraid to speak her mind, she is also ready to admit when she's made a mistake.

Luna made her first appearance in the first episode of "Gaiden". She was in search of her brother's murderer. It was in the first scenes of the series that revealed that the murderer was in fact the Armor of Korin (Armor of Halo) but without its wearer, Seiji Date (Sage). Meanwhile the Troopers go in search of the missing Seiji and it takes them all the way to New York. It was through various searching that Touma Hashiba (Rowen) stumbled upon the body of the photographer who took the pictures of the Korin Armor that was plastered all over the news. At this point, Luna discovered Touma with the body and assumed he was the killer. But over the course of time, Luna realized her mistake and decided to aid the Troopers in their attempts to rescue Seiji, the recently captured Nasuti Yagyu (Mia Koji) and Jun Yamano (Ully) and the defeat of their new enemy, Shikaisen.

Luna's help came to an end in the seconde episode when she tried to get revenge for her brother's death. During an encounter against Shikaisen, she made an attempt to attack the sorcerer but to no avail. Shikaisen easily dispatched of her that resulted in a mortal wound. Luna died in Ryo's arms; she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. According to Sunrise, she wanted to tell Ryo how glad she was to have met him. In the English dub version, she "IS" able to tell Ryo how glad she was to have met him before dying in his arms.

During the OVA, Luna showed much interest in Ryo. During an attack in a Los Angeles cemetery, Luna was nearly attacked by one of Shikaisen's henchmen. Shu (Kento) easily took care of him but instead of being thanked, Luna continued to loudly cheer for Ryo, leaving Shu rather bewildered. Sunrise stated if Luna had survived her ordeal, then there was a possible chance that she and Ryo would have developed deeper feelings for one another.

Manga and Dôjinshi Adaptions

Like many of the OVA characters, Luna does not appear in the manga. In the dôjinshi fandom, Luna's overall character remains intact. Although her feelings for Ryo remain strong, she seems to get along fine with everybody.

Weapons and Attacks

While Luna doesn't have any magical armor or super powers, she does use a knife. Under normal circumstances she is pretty skilled at using it, as she was able to catch the Troopers off guard the first time she encountered them in Uncle Chin's restaurant in Chinatown, New York. Her speed is noted to be quite remarkable for a human.

Trivia

* Luna's Japanese voice actress is Eri Kouno; she is currently known as Eriko Hara. In the Italian dub, her voice is done by Marcella Silvestri.
* Fanon depicts Luna as being African American. However, according to official publications through Sunrise Animation Studio, Luna and her brother are listed as being Asian Americans. However, in episode 1 of "Gaiden", a photo of Luna and her brother are shown and her brother appears more Caucasian looking than she is.
* Luna's name is possibly based on the Greek Goddess of the same name. Ryo made a comment about Luna's name in episode 1 during their introductions which probably sparked the interest between the two characters. In the English dub version, Runa says she is named after her mother.
* According to Sunrise Animation Studio, Luna's favorite kind of music is: "Anything that has a funky beat to it".
* According to Japanese fan rumor, if you look carefully into the background in the scene where Luna speaks her last words to Ryou, their shadows overlap each other, as if they are kissing.