(rendered as
Lowe Gear in
TokyopopTokyopop, stylized TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Original English-language manga in English, German, and Japanese. Tokyopop is incorporated in Tokyo, Japan, with headquarters in Los Angeles, California and branches in...
's
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astrayis a collection of "gaiden" set in the Cosmic Era of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. Whereas the main story of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED focuses on the struggles between the Earth Alliance, ZAFT, and Orb Union, the Astray series is focused on the three MBF-P0x mobile suit prototypes and their respective...
manga) is a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction franchise
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, often shortened to Gundam SEED, is an anime television series animated by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The plot follows Kira Yamato's involvement in the war between Naturals, and Coordinators; humans genetically modified before birth to possesses enhanced traits.The series spans fifty...
.
Lowe is a technician from the non-governmental organization the Junk Guild and pilot of one of three Astray prototypes, the
MBF-P02 Astray Red FrameThis article is about a fictional weapon from the Cosmic Era timeline of the anime Gundam metaseries.The Orb Union’s Morgenroete corporation built three Gundam Astray prototype mobile suits at Heliopolis, the MBF-P01 Astray Gold Frame, MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame, and MBF-P03 Astray Blue Frame, were...
. Although he is a Natural, Lowe can pilot the Red Frame with the assistance of an artificially intelligent
quantum computerA quantum computer is a device for computation that makes direct use of quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. The basic principle behind quantum computation is that quantum properties can be used to represent data and perform operations...
called 8, which he salvaged from an abandoned spacecraft. Born in C.E. 51, he joined the Junk Guild when he was 16 years old. He is a mechanic genius and could fix any problem usually at the first glance. He believes himself to be "The Luckiest Bastard" because he has good fortune, and can get out of tight situations.
Role
His first assignment was the refitted transport ship
HOMEA home is a place of residence or refuge and comfort. It is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and be able to store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living...
, on which he salvaged the Red and Blue Frame units, and
Gold FrameThis article is about a fictional weapon from the Cosmic Era timeline of the anime Gundam metaseries.In the anime series Gundam SEED Astray, the Orb Union's Morgenroete corporation built three Gundam Astray prototype mobile suits at Heliopolis, the MBF-P01 Astray Gold Frame, MBF-P02 Astray Red...
's arm from the ruins of Heliopolis. Lowe was confronted by Gai Murakumo, leader of the Serpent Tail mercenary group, who had been hired to erase all evidence of the Astray program. However, when Gai's employers betrayed him, he and Lowe fought together against them and the two eventually formed an unlikely friendship. Lowe allowed Gai to keep the Blue Frame, which he had seized during the battle, and left with only Red Frame and the Gold Frame arm. Lowe was subsequently attacked by several organizations, mostly by Actaeon Industries, so they could snatch the Red Frame. Such thieves included Juri Wu Nien, who was under the guise of an intern technician for the Junk Guild. However, in truth, Juri was gathering the combat data of the Red Frame for Erica Simmons of Morganroete, so her attempt to steal the Red Frame ended in success with the data in hand despite having to return the Red Frame to Lowe.
After one theft attempt by a pirate gang, Lowe decided he needed a sword for Red Frame that would not drain its battery like a beam saber. To that end, he travelled to the Graveyard, a makeshift colony built from debris orbiting Earth, in search of a mobile suit sized
katanaA Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. These are categorised in several types according to size and method of manufacture...
called the "Gerbera Straight". There he met an old man named Un No, a master swordsman who was the only survivor of the colony. Un No trained Lowe in the art of
kenjutsu, meaning "the art of the sword", is a term for classical Japanese sword arts , in particular those which predate the Meiji Restoration...
, and was surprised that Lowe showed a natural talent for swordsmanship. He also gave Lowe the Gerbera Straight, which had been damaged in a previous battle with pirates. Aided by data recorded by a Graveyard craftsman, Lowe repaired the Gerbera Straight, and began using it as Red Frame's main weapon.
During his time with Red Frame in space, he encountered by accident
Lacus Clyneis a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. She is a popular female vocalist and becomes the co-leader of the Clyne Faction...
's civilian vessel
Silverwind under attack, and distracted
Earth AllianceThe Earth Alliance is the name of at least three fictional governments or alliances in modern science-fiction, as well as a proposed UNEP-like organization.*The Earth Alliance from the Babylon 5 TV series....
forces long enough for her to escape. In another mission to prevent a large piece of debris from entering Earth's atmosphere, Lowe was attacked by
Rondo Ghina SahakuRondo Ghina and Rondo Mina Sahaku are fictional characters from the Japanese science fiction manga series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray and its sequels....
in the Gold Frame. Lowe barely managed to survive the battle, with Red Frame's right arm being destroyed and the
HOME being irreparably damaged by crashing to Earth. On Earth he encountered
Martin DaCostaMartin DaCosta is a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. DaCosta also makes an appearance in the Gundam SEED Astray R manga....
, who had just retreated the remaining members of the forces under supposedly fallen
Andrew Waltfeldis a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.Nicknamed , Andrew Waltfeld is commander of the ZAFT forces in the PLANT-pledged African Community, headquartered at Banadiya, and is assisted by his executive officer Martin DaCosta...
. After aiding DaCosta with repairs and against an attack from Blue Cosmos, Lowe and the Junk Guild members headed for Orb, salvaging the damaged
Lesseps for their use.
Shortly afterward, on a mission to bring Reverend Malchio to Orb, Lowe witnessed the battle between the
GAT-X105 StrikeThis article is about a series of fictional mobile weapons from the Cosmic Era timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries.The GAT-X105 Strike Gundam is initially designed by Junichi Akutsu and cleaned up by Kunio Okawara for the series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED as one of the five mobile suits developed...
and GAT-X303 Aegis; from the wreckage, he rescued Kira Yamato. The Strike would later be found by Orb Forces, who were sent to find Kira Yamato and Tolle Koenig, both reported as MIA in the previous battle. Lowe, after handing Kira over to Reverend Malchio, joined his comrades to work on the mobile Giga-Float
mass driverA mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch that would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds. All existing and contemplated mass drivers use coils of wire energized by electricity to make electromagnets. Sequential...
. There Lowe fought Rondo Ghina Sahaku again, and was saved only by the timely intervention of Gai in the Blue Frame, who had been hired to protect the Giga-Float during its construction. Lowe and Gai also fought against several ZAFT attacks on the mass driver until its completion.
After these battles, Lowe headed into space with his teammates to join Liam Garfield aboard the
ReHOME, a refitted tender ship for
Archangel class assault shipsThe Archangel-class assault ship is a fictional ship class from the Cosmic Era timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. They are functionally equivalent to the current day aircraft carriers; their primary mission being to launch and recover mobile suits and mobile armors...
. There Lowe fought Rondo Ghina for the final time. Lowe's Red Frame was outmatched by the newly upgraded Gold Frame Amatu, and the Gerbera Straight was broken during the battle. Lowe managed to defeat Rondo Ghina, however, when Gai arrived and allowed Lowe to borrow his giant Tactical Arms sword. Lowe spared Gold Frame's pilot, but the enraged Sahaku then attempted to shoot Lowe in the back. Gai then killed Rondo Ghina, telling Lowe that his high-minded ideals were worthless on the battlefield.
Late in the war,
Prayer Reverieis a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction franchise Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.-History:He is the former pilot of the experimental ZAFT DRAGOON suit YMF-X000A Dreadnought that was used by the Junk Guild before he apparently died due to genetic complications. He is a young boy with...
joined the
ReHOME's crew, along with his
YMF-X000A DreadnoughtIn the fictional Cosmic Era of the anime Gundam metaseries, the YMF-X000A Dreadnought Gundam is a mobile suit from the manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray, serving as ZAFT's new experimental unit...
DRAGOON mobile suit. Lowe aided him in protecting the nuclear-powered mobile suit from Eurasian pilot
Canard Parsis a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction manga series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray. He is a member of the Earth Alliance's Eurasian Federation where he served as a special operative and piloted the CAT1-X1/3 Hyperion Unit 1....
, until Prayer died while protecting Canard from an overloading nuclear reactor. Lowe also fought the psychotic Ash Grey, and managed to defeat his giant ZGMF-X11A Regenerate. Kira and Lowe met face-to-face on September 25, C.E. 71, the day before the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Lowe also got to meet Lacus, whom he had also saved.
After the war Lowe rebuilt the Dreadnought into the YMF-X000A/H Dreadnought H for Canard and gave Jess Rabble the ZGMF-X12 Astray Out Frame. He also gave 8 to Jess, with Red Frame's operating system apparently having been upgraded so that Lowe could pilot it without the aid of the quantum computer. Afterwards he, together with Kisato, flew to Mars in the
ReHOME but two years later he returns, upgrading the damaged Out Frame to the ZGMF-X12D Astray Out Frame D. Lowe's Astray Red Frame actively participated in the vain attempt by Rondo Mina Sahaku's forces, Serpent Tail and the Junk Guild to prevent Junius Seven from plummeting to Earth. However, it was soon revealed that Red Frame was piloted not by Lowe but by Diego Lowell, a Martian colonist who had joined Lowe on his journey back to Earth. While Diego took Red Frame without permission, he later returned it to Lowe, who transferred the specialized "Mars Jacket" equipment to a mass production Astray for Diego's use.
Trivia
- Lowe was technically the first Natural to successfully pilot a mobile suit.
- He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka
Masaya Onosaka , born on October 13, 1964 in Osaka) is a seiyū who works for Aoni Production.-TV anime:*Agent Aika *Angelic Layer '*Baccano! '...
in the SEED MSV OVAs and the Cosmic Era video games he appears in. In the English dub of Gundam SEED: Never Ending Tomorrow, he is voiced by Scott RobertsScott Roberts born 5 September, 1984 in the Rhondda Valley, Wales is a rugby union who plays for the Scarlets in the Magners League and Llanelli RFC in the Principality Premiership...
.
- In Gundam SEED X Astray, The Professor says that Kira Yamato
is a fictional character and main protagonist from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. Kira is also an important character in the sequel Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny....
saved Lowe's life on Earth, while in fact, the opposite is true. After Athrun Zalais a fictional character from the Japanese science fiction anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and it sequel Gundam SEED Destiny...
blew up the GAT-X303 Aegis to defeat Kira in the GAT-X105 StrikeThis article is about a series of fictional mobile weapons from the Cosmic Era timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries.The GAT-X105 Strike Gundam is initially designed by Junichi Akutsu and cleaned up by Kunio Okawara for the series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED as one of the five mobile suits developed...
, Lowe carried Kira's unconscious body to Reverend Malchio. However in the side series at the end of each volume called "Don't give up Kisato", they parody this by saying that when Lowe goes back to Kisato he reveals that he brought the Strike Gundam and left Kira's unconcious body.