For the Star Trek character, see Gowron

Gowron

Gowron is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Portrayed by Robert O'Reilly and featured in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...

is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 and one of the main villain

Villain

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...

s from the light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

, manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, and anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic!

is an ongoing series of light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji. The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl.Individual...

. His Japanese voice was portrayed by Masahiko Tanaka

Masahiko Tanaka

is a Japanese voice actor. - Voice roles :* suicune in Pokemon 4Ever* M'Quve in Mobile Suit Gundam* Mihiramon in Digimon Tamers* Gauron in Full Metal Panic!* Fudou Takuma in Getbackers* Ryo Mashiba in Hajime no Ippo* Kyoichi Sudo in Initial D...

 and the English voice was provided by Mike MacRae

Mike MacRae

Mike MacRae is an American comedian and voice actor.-Biography:A native of St. Louis, Missouri, MacRae moved to Houston, Texas in 1995 where he graduated from Rice University in 1999 and started performing in the The Laff Stop. He appeared on television for the first time in 2001 with Comedy...

.

Overview

While little is known about Gauron at the present, he is Sousuke’s strongest and most formidable enemy throughout the TV series. He’s a terrorist of the highest caliber sponsored by a mysterious organization, but little is known about Gauron’s benefactors other than the fact that they appear to be more formidable and possess greater resources than even the notorious Soviet KGB. He previously piloted a Codarl Arm Slave. He is credited with having assassinated more than thirty VIPs, and bombed at least two important aircraft.

He is believed to be from an Asian ethnicity, and is believed to hold citizenship in nine countries, thus said as nine dragons and hence Gauron; some official materials claim he is ethnically Japanese. Gauron and Sousuke have a long and bloodstained history together. Sousuke left a big scar on Gauron’s forehead when he and then Soviet Spetsnaz commander Major Kalinin ambushed Gauron in a sniper attack back in Sousuke’s Afghan guerrilla days. This is but one of many battle scars Sousuke inflicts upon this vicious manslayer over the course of the series. Since then Gauron, refers to Sousuke as "Kashim" - the name assigned to Sousuke by the Afghan guerrilla leader.

It is shown that he is a sexual deviant that has intentions of raping minors. This is proven by his proclamation to Sousuke that he wanted to rape him after he kills him, along with expressing sexual attraction to Sousuke when Sousuke was eleven years old. He is also shown to get sexual arousal from violently cutting up and killing people, as well as choking them.

Character history

Before the events of the series, the earliest history that has been revealed of Gauron was that he was twelve years old when he fought in the Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...

. Every day, he would arrange the burned bodies of the victims his Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....

 colleagues killed.

Many years later, during the war between the Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 resistance and the invading Soviet forces, Gauron is shown to have been a mercenary camp Arm Slave instructor for "Anti-imperialist combatants" placed in Afghanistan territories. "Anti-imperialist combatants," according to Kalinin, was just a nice way of calling a terrorist group that would carry out attacks against the West, and whose training facilities were supported by the KGB. During this same time, Sousuke was a guerilla soldier fighting against Soviet forces in the mountain districts not far from Gauron's camp. At the time, they were neither enemies nor allies, as their mutual interests did not oppose one another's. The two first met while Gauron was driving his jeep, and happened upon an eleven year old Sousuke. Sousuke had just massacred a platoon of Soviet Arm Slaves, and was gathering their bodies to throw into a pit for a makeshift burial. At that moment, Gauron found Sousuke's eyes beautiful, and deemed the boy an "Assassin Saint." Gauron then found out that the boy was named "Kashim," and proceeded to ask him if he wanted to come with him, as the Afghanistan resistance was losing at the moment. Sousuke refused, and that was the end of the first of their many meetings.

Soon after this meeting, Gauron later chooses to side with the Soviets. This was the time when he first came into contact with Kalinin From the very beginning, Kalinin took an instant dislike towards Gauron, mostly for his cruel and unnecessarily violent and brutal ways. One of the many things that disgusted Kalinin was how Gauron had approved of his underlings starting fights and randomly killing guerillas for "practice." After bringing this to Gauron's attention, Gauron smiled and claimed that Kalinin should be grateful that he and his men were helping to "exterminate bugs." During the same time that this was going on, Sousuke was wreaking havoc on the Soviet forces, being known only as a mysterious guerilla in an Arm Slave that was massacring soldiers. On the subject of this, Gauron displayed great interest in Sousuke, and even recommended to Kalinin that he should capture this Guerilla alive. Since Gauron was witness to Sousuke killing numerous Soviet soldiers with his Arm Slave, it is very likely that Gauron already knew who the mysterious guerilla was.

After Kalinin deserts the Soviet forces, Gauron formulates a raid on the guerilla village that Sousuke and Kalinin were staying at. Bringing two Arm Slaves, he completely slaughters all of the villagers, including women and children. As Sousuke and Kalinin were sent off to spy on the Soviets, both were spared the unfortunate fate of the others. This event served to fuel the animosity both Sousuke and Kalinin felt towards Gauron, and is the start of the antagonizing relationship between them. After this, Gauron was sent by the Soviets to find and kill Sousuke and Kalinin. Both of them found this a perfect opportunity to exact revenge upon him. Kalinin acted as the bait, and Sousuke acted as the sniper, shooting Gauron while his guard was down. Satisfied that they had avenged their comrades' death, neither thought any more of Gauron.

During the beginning of the series, Gauron first attempts to kidnap Kaname by hijacking a plane with Kaname's whole class aboard (which Sousuke describes as the perfect plan). After landing in the Kanka region, Gauron takes Kaname to be tested to see if she really is a Whispered

Whispered

The Whispered are unique individuals in the Full Metal Panic! universe who possess access to Black Technology, technology that outstrips the level of technology that should exist in the world.- Abilities :...

. Although Sousuke rescues Kaname (in a Savage), Gauron attacks them in his Codarl AS, which destroys the Savage and bests Kurtz in his M9. Sousuke, however, is able to defeat Gauron with his newly acquired Arbalest (destroying his first Codarl). Gauron is somehow able to survive his AS's destruction and reappears later in the series.

A formidable AS pilot of tremendous talent, Gauron's dangerous Codarl AS has bested Mithril's frontline AS, the M9 Gernsback, in battle on several occasions. Even Sousuke and his ARX-7 Arbalest have great difficulty competing against Gauron's fearsome skill in their many confrontations across the course of the series.

He also appears to have a nearly supernatural ability to survive certain death, including the destruction of his AS, and the sniper attack. His surviving the sniper attack was explained by a titanium plate in his skull, and his surviving his AS' self-destruct was explained by Gauron's use of the Lambda Driver at the last moment to protect his body. This trait is well known among the other characters, who comment numerous times on his evil luck.

A possible explanation for Gauron not fearing death, even in the face of his AS self-destructing is revealed by Leonard Testarossa in the book 'Continuing on My Own' who tells Sousuke that Gauron was suffering from cancer.

It is later revealed in "The Second Raid" that Gauron worked for Amalgam, his code name being "Mr. Iron". It is implied that the other members of Amalgam did not get along with him, and therefore gave him this code name as a joke, as iron is a metal that cannot amalgamate with mercury.

Second Raid

In "The Second Raid", it is revealed that Gauron is alive, through the use of his Lambda Driver at the last second, though his injuries have turned him into a quadruple amputee cripple confined to a bed by his wounds. He informs Sousuke that, realizing his impending death, he was the one who ordered the two twins he raised to wreak havoc and destruction in Hong Kong thereby rendering it a "sea of flames." His reasons for doing so were partly due to how he wanted to take as many people with him to his death as he can, and partly due to his desire to get back at Amalgam and send the organization into a panic. However, he reveals that his main reason was to lure Sousuke to him so that he can spend his last moments talking with him. Realizing that Mithril would deploy Sousuke if Hong Kong was in such a state of turmoil, Gauron took the opportunity to spread a series of clues and cryptic messages that only Sousuke would understand. During Gauron's last moments, he reveals to Sagara that the young guerrilla Sagara he knew in Helmajistan would have been the perfect person to kill or be killed by him, but in the present day, he claims that Sagara has become 'weak' and 'soft' from his time at High School. He tells Sagara that one of his agents, one of the twins mentioned below, has killed Kaname. However, in truth, Leonard Testarossa's Arm Slave bodyguards killed the agent. Sousuke, in a rage, then kills Gauron (for good this time) by shooting him multiple times, further exemplified when a bomb underneath Gauron's bed explodes. He dies with a psychotic grin on his face, indicating that he was expecting Sousuke to kill him.

He had previously trained two twin sisters, who he named Xia Yu-Fan, and Xia Yu-Lan. They are both formidable fighters, with Yu-Fan specializing in piloting an Arm Slave (a Soviet/Amalgam Shadow at the beginning of the series, and a Codarl-M type in the end), and Yu-Lan specializing in close quarters combat as well as firearms. They do not survive the series, Yu-Lan being killed by one of Leonard Testarossa's bodyguards, the human-sized Plan 1211, Alastor, and Yu-Fan being killed by the psychotic leader of the Amalgam Execution Squad, Mr. Gates, in the final battle.