Flay Allster

Infobox animanga character
name = Flay Allster
series = Mobile Suit Gundam SEED


caption = Flay Allster in "Gundam SEED"
first = "Gundam SEED" episode 1
last = "Gundam SEED" episode 50
creator =
voiced by = Houko Kuwashima (Japanese)
Tabitha St. Germain (English)cite web |url=http://www.gundamofficial.com/worlds/ce/seed/credits/index.html |title=Credits |accessdate=2008-01-31 |work=GundamOfficial |publisher=Bandai America Incorporated]
alias =
age = 15 [GS] cite web |url=http://www.gundamofficial.com/worlds/ce/seed/characters/chara_flay.html |title=Flay Allster |accessdate=2008-04-06 |work=GundamOfficial |publisher=Bandai America Incorporated]
born = March 15
death =
nationality = Atlantic Federation [GS]
relatives = George Allster (father)
mother (unnamed, deceased)
paux1 name = Genetic type
paux1 = Natural
divider = yes
aux1 name = Allegiance
aux1 = Earth Alliance [GS] [cite web |url=http://www.gundamofficial.com/worlds/ce/seed/characters/index.html |title=Characters |accessdate=2008-04-06 |work=GundamOfficial |publisher=Bandai America Incorporated]
aux2 name = Rank
aux2 = Crewman 2nd Class [GS]

nihongo|Flay Allster|フレイ・アルスター|Furei Arusutā is a fictional character in the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED".

Gundam SEED

Character introduction

Flay, the daughter of Atlantic Federation Vice Foreign Minister George Allster, is a pretty, popular, and to some extent spoiled, Heliopolis technical college student. Her fiancé is Sai Argyle, which was arranged by their parents. She has received a love letter from Sai, which was mentioned in episode 1 of "Gundam SEED". The only one of his friends she seems familiar with is Miriallia Haw, who she shares idle gossip with shortly before ZAFT attacks Heliopolis. She only knows Kira Yamato as "Sai's friend". She escapes the destruction of Heliopolis in a lifeboat and winds up on the "Archangel" when Kira retrieves it while piloting the GAT-X105 Strike.

On the Archangel

When a twist of fate lands Lacus Clyne on board the "Archangel", Flay looks down on her and scorns her kindness because she is a Coordinator. After hearing this, Kuzzey Buskirk asks her if she is a member of the Blue Cosmos. Flay says no, but she does not believe that their views are wrong because there is nothing natural about the Coordinators' existence.

Flay is elated to hear that the "Archangel" will be meeting her father; but his escort ship, the "Montgomery", is attacked by ZAFT. Desperate, she drags Lacus to the bridge and demands that the crew tell the ZAFT forces to cease their attack, or she will kill Lacus. Unfortunately, the crew does not act in time to save her father, who dies when the "Montgomery" explodes.

Flay is catatonic at the loss of her father and ultimately blames her ordeal on Kira, believing he deliberately held back to not kill "his own kind". (There is some truth to that accusation because Kira was fighting his old friend Athrun Zala. This friendship is not revealed to the group at first, but Flay takes the information personally once she heard about it.) This action clearly effects Kira, who is very upset by her outburst. She later apologizes for what she said. The "Archangel" later meets with Admiral Lewis Halberton and his Eighth Fleet and Kira is given a choice as to whether he will continue to fight. To make him keep fighting the Coordinators, Flay enlists in the Earth Alliance, and her actions prompt Kira and his friends to enlist as well. When he returns to pick up his normal clothing from his locker, he finds Flay contemplating taking the Strike into action. Kira assures her she does not need to as he will continue to protect the ship. Flay states that if he will protect the ship, she will protect him and gives him a deep kiss. This is the start of her manipulation of Kira, using his existing attraction to her and his unstable psychological state to her advantage.

Later, Kira breaks down because he failed to protect a transport containing innocent civilians, including a little girl named Elle who gave him an origami flower to thank him for protecting the refugees. Flay comforts him and eventually the two of them have sex. She wakes up naked to find Kira preparing for battle. Her influence drives him to use a more violent fighting style against the ZAFT forces who engage the "Archangel" in North Africa and later in the Indian Ocean.

In North Africa, Flay breaks off her relationship with Sai in favor of Kira. Enraged, Sai lunges at them, but Kira easily overpowers him. This prompts Sai to try piloting the Strike, but he fails and is put under solitary confinement.

Over time, as Kira becomes more obsessed with protecting the "Archangel" and less intoxicated with Flay, the two grow apart. This bothers Flay as she tries to save the relationship, by seducing him again.

Later, when the "Archangel" is undergoing repairs at Orb, Flay reveals to Kira that after her father's death she was in fact an orphan, as her mother died from sickness a long time ago. In this same conversation, Kira ends his relationship with Flay, believing that they are not right for each other. It is unclear whether or not he realizes she was manipulating him. By this time, Flay does have feelings for him, and she tries to tell him so.

Shortly afterwards Kira and Tolle Koenig are declared missing in action. With Kira gone, Flay attempts to restart her relationship with Sai, denying she ever felt any emotions for Kira. Sai says this is not true, and they begin to argue. The arguing former couple encounter an enraged Miriallia trying to avenge Tolle's death by attacking Dearka Elsman, who was then being held prisoner on board the "Archangel". Sai stops Miriallia and calms her down, then Flay states her belief that Coordinators "deserve" be eradicated. She attempts to shoot Dearka, but is knocked down by the recomposed Miriallia. Flay demands an explanation, stating that she and Miriallia are now the same, an opinion Miriallia vehemently denies.

Later, Flay is transferred from the "Archangel", along with Mu La Flaga and Natarle Badgiruel. However, she encounters Rau Le Creuset during an infiltration mission he is conducting. Flay is reminded of her deceased father when she hears Rau Le Creuset's voice. (George Allster and Rau are both voiced by Seki Toshihiko in the Japanese version, and by Mark Oliver in the English dub.) Flay is knocked out and kidnapped by Rau, ironically saving her life as the base in Alaska self-destructs shortly afterwards.

Time with Le Creuset and on the Dominion

Le Creuset's kindly countenance catches Flay off guard. As a result, she is forced to reevaluate her feelings towards Coordinators. She even sneaks glances at Yzak Joule every once in a while and thinks of him as well as Kira and Le Creuset later on when Muruta Azrael declares his goal of eliminating all Coordinators.

Eventually, Le Creuset hands her back to the Earth Alliance, along with a disk containing the specs to N-Jammer Canceller technology. While in the lifepod, she desperately tries to communicate with the "Archangel" and in the process everybody on the battlefield hears her, including Kira. Upon hearing Kira's voice again, Flay weeps with joy.

However, Kira fails to retrieve her pod after his ZGMF-X10A Freedom is beheaded by the Forbidden and the Raider, and she winds up on board the "Dominion" instead. When Flay is greeted by Natarle, the only person on board the "Dominion" whom she is familiar with, she cries in her arms.

After a brief stay on the Earth Alliance lunar base, Flay becomes the "Dominion"'s communications officer. (When Natarle asks her why, Flay says so she can see Kira and the others again and talk.) While on board the ship, she witnesses the destruction of the ZAFT fortress Boaz with nuclear missiles. Despite her earlier declaration that all Coordinators must be eradicated, Flay is horrified by this act and weeps when Natarle (hiding her own doubts) says that the war will not end until every last enemy is destroyed. (In the original Japanese in the voice actors for Flay and Natarle are the same person: Houko Kuwashima. In essence, she is talking to herself)

During the battle of Jachin Due, Flay becomes frightened of Azrael. However, when Azrael orders the crew to fire on the "Archangel", Flay tries to warn her former crewmates. When Azrael tries to shoot her, Natarle intervenes and orders her and the rest of the crew to abandon ship and get to the "Archangel".

En route to the "Archangel", Flay notices Kira and Le Creuset fighting in their respective mobile suits, the Freedom and the Providence. When Kira hears her voice again, he backs out of the fight and tries to rescue her. Instead of going after Kira, Le Creuset points his beam rifle directly at Flay's escape vessel. Kira manages to block the shot with his shield and get one last look at Flay. But then another one of Rau's DRAGOONs fires from above and destroys the vessel, killing Flay and her crewmates.

Kira cries out in anguish, realizing Flay's death could have been prevented if he had not lost focus on Le Creuset. However, Flay's spirit appears to briefly materialize to thank and apologize to Kira. She assures Kira that her feelings will protect him and disappears. Kira later avenges Flay's death by killing Le Crueset in combat.

The director of "Gundam SEED", Mitsuo Fukuda, has stated that this spiritual appearance does not literally occur. Rather, it was a way to illustrate to the audience what Flay wanted to say to Kira but never actually could, and thus bring closure to her character arc.

Trivia

* When Flay begins her plot to seduce Kira, she gives him a surprise kiss. This shot is an homage to a similar scene in Zeta Gundam between Amuro Ray and his admirer Beltorchika Irma.

* In the game, "Super Robot Wars W" for the Nintendo DS, Flay is saved from death much earlier on, when the "Neue Welltar" (the unified team of mecha heroes including the "Archangel" group) intercept Flay (placed in a remote-controlled GINN) before she is picked up by the "Dominion" while carrying the N-Jammer Canceler data (in fact, the original TV scenario of being recovered by the "Dominion" results in a game over).

References